Valentine's Day For the Grinch
by VioletRose13
Summary: [The Grinch 2018] After almost thirty years, Martha May Whovier finally returns to Whoville and starts a new life. Then she reunites with an old friend, the Grinch. Martha is very happy to see him, but what will happen when she starts to develop feelings for him? …And vice versa?
1. Prologue

"Attention, everyone. We'll be arriving in Whoville in about five minutes." The pilot said over the intercom.

Martha May sat in her seat on the plane, eager to finally return to the town she cherished. When the plane finally landed, she unbuckled her seatbelt, grabbed her carry-on bags, and exited the plane, desperately trying to contain her excitement. She grabbed the rest of her luggage and climbed onto a bus that could drive on snow; it took Martha straight to her new house in Whoville. As she rode through the snowy streets of the small town, she couldn't help but grin from ear to ear and wave to other people passing by. There were quite a few changes since her last visit; the town was slightly bigger, there were more little shops, and the elementary school was bigger as well. But she didn't care; it felt so good to be back here.

Then Martha spotted the mountain north of town, Mt. Crumpit. That was the only thing that hadn't changed. After a while, she arrived. Martha had used most of the money she earned at Who Runway to buy her family's vacation home and now, it was her very own. When Martha unloaded her bags from the bus with the help of the driver, she was approached by a young woman with short strawberry blonde hair, yellow-green eyes, and wearing a bright pink and yellow outfit; she had a big smile on her face.

"Martha May, is that really you?" The woman asked, sounding surprised.

Martha's eyes widened and her mouth fell open slightly; she recognized this woman as one of her old friends.

She smiled. "Tina?!"

They squealed in delight and hugged each other tight.

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe it!" Tina exclaimed.

"I know! It's been too long!" Martha said as they separated.

Tina examined her old friend from head to toe, taking in every little detail. "Man, you've changed. You're _beautiful_."

Martha blushed. "Tina, please. You are _much_ prettier than me."

"Stop it."

"I don't mean to be rude, but what exactly are you doing here? I thought I was supposed to meet my realtor here."

"You're looking at her. Tina of Whoville Real Estate, at your service."

"Wow, that's great!"

"Thanks. Hey, do you need any help with your stuff?"

"Oh, yeah. That'd be great, thanks."

After a little bit, Martha, Tina, and the bus driver loaded all of Martha's things into the house.

"Thanks for helping us." Martha said as she handed the driver some money. "And I'm sorry for any trouble."

"There was no trouble, don't worry." The driver said as he pocketed the money and headed towards the door. "But I'd better be going. I hope you like it here in Whoville. Bye-bye."

"Thank you. And bye."

The driver left, leaving Martha and Tina alone together. Tina ran a hand through her hair.

"Sorry, I just can't believe how long it's been." She said in astonishment.

"Me neither." Martha said. "I wish I could've visited before, but… I guess life got in the way."

"I understand. We've all been there, even Donna."

"Hey, how is Donna anyway?"

"Oh, she's doing pretty well. She has a job as a nurse and she has three kids of her own."

"Really?"

"Yeah, one girl and two twin baby boys. They can be quite the handful."

"I can imagine. But did Donna ever marry?"

"Yes she did, but… her husband Clark passed away before the boys were born."

"That's terrible."

"Yeah, she and her daughter were pretty devastated. But they're all doing fine now."

"Well, that's good."

Martha paused; she didn't want to mention the Grinch just yet. Perhaps if she waited a little longer, then she could see how he's been doing.

Then Tina's cell phone rang. She put it up to her ear and said, "Hello? Huh, what? Oh, right. I forgot. Sorry, sir. I'll be right there. See you then." She hung up and put her phone in her coat pocket.

"Where are you going?" Martha asked.

"Sorry, that was my boss. I have an appointment later today and if I don't get there soon, I'm gonna be late. I'll catch you later, Martha. Bye."

"Bye."

And with that, Tina briskly walked out of the house, leaving Martha alone. She looked at the boxes and bags surrounding her; she rubbed her hands together.

"Okay, let's get to unpacking." She said with a determined look on her face.

Outside, a little girl with blue eyes and blonde pigtails tied with pink bows was passing by on a little sledding tube. She stopped and looked at the house before noticing the 'Sold' sign in the front yard. She smiled.

"Hey, Mr. Grinch! Come here, look at this!" She called just as the one and only Grinch ran up to her, out of breath.

"Cindy-Lou, you need you learn how to slow down. You know I can't keep up with you." He heaved' Max was following close behind.

"Sorry, but you need to check this out." Cindy-Lou said, pointing to the sign. "Whoville has a new neighbor! Isn't that great?"

"A new neighbor?" The Grinch asked, looking at the house.

The last time he checked, this house had been vacant for years. And now someone has bought it? This didn't make much sense to him. Who would buy that specific house? Why now? And more importantly, who was this new visitor to little ol' Whoville? He scratched his head and furrowed his brow in thought.

"Are you okay, Mr. Grinch?" Cindy-Lou asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine." Grinch quickly said; he looked back at her. "Sorry, lost in thought. Now what do you say we head back to your house?"

"Okay." The little girl said as the Grinch used his foot to give her tube a gentle push.

She slid down the snowy path with Max the dog barking happily and chasing after her. Just as he was about to walk away, the Grinch thought he saw a flash of something bright red through one of the windows. He paused and thought for a moment before he ran off to catch up with Cindy-Lou and Max.


	2. A Strange, Old Friend

Three days passed; Martha May was fully unpacked and she was starting to feel at home all over again. As she unpacked, she was frequently visited by Whos wanting to make her feel welcomed. They dropped off kind and friendly greetings and house warming gifts of all kinds, which Martha happily accepted. At one point, Donna even dropped by with Cindy-Lou, Buster, and Bean and they gave her a 'Welcome Back to Whoville' cake and a few cards.

But that evening, Martha quickly realized that she still needed a job if she wanted to keep the house; she opened her laptop and checked online for job listings in Whoville and saw that there was a teaching job open at Whoville Elementary School.

She smiled. This was PERFECT!

Martha immediately took out her phone, set up an appointment as soon as possible, and an interview was scheduled for 10:00 the next morning. Before heading off to bed, Martha put together a folder complete with all of her contact information, her resume, her teaching license, and even a social security number just in case.

The next morning, Martha woke up at 8:30 am. She took a shower, brushed her hair, did her makeup, picked out a proper outfit, ate a quick breakfast, grabbed her purse, her phone, and her folder, and headed out the door towards the school.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"Another day, another grocery run, eh Max?" The Grinch said as he and Max walked through the streets of Whoville on the way to Mt. Crumpit; Max barked as he pulled a wagon. "It's kind of weird how fast my food supply runs out lately, especially since more people are starting to visit our cave more often. But at least we got what we need."

"Hey there, Mr. Grinch." A shopkeeper said, waving his hand.

"Hey, Lazlo." Grinch greeted back.

"Good morning, Mr. Grinch." The flower shop woman called out.

"Hi, Marge." Grinch said with a smile.

"Mr. Grinch!" A group of five kids said as they ran up to the green furry creature.

"Oh! Hey, kids." Grinch chuckled.

"Do you have any new inventions to show us? Huh, huh, huh?" One kid enthusiastically asked.

"Just one. I know how much you kids love Christmas, so…"

The Grinch then took something out of a backpack he brought; it was a remote controlled drone that looked like Santa's sleigh and reindeer. He pushed a button on the remote and it immediately started to fly; the kids all watched in awe and excitement as the little machine glided over their heads.

"How about that?" Grinch asked.

"Whoa, that's so cool!" One boy said. "Can we play with it a little bit?"

"Of course. But be sure to take turns." The Grinch said offering the remote to the boy.

"Thanks Mr. Grinch!" The boy said.

"No problem."

And with that, the kids all ran off in a different direction to play with their new toy. The Grinch smiled.

"Hey there, Mr. Grinch." A woman with brown hair said, approaching the Grinch. She had a conspiratorial smile on her face. "Somebody's quite popular with the kids, hmm?"

"Hello, Portia." The Grinch said, sounding uneasy.

"So I'm gonna go out on a limb here, but my friend, Betty, is recently single and…" Portia gestured towards another woman with frizzy black hair, freckles on her face, and a rounder frame; Betty was giving the Grinch a weird smile, which made his tense up almost immediately.

"What? Oh no. No, no, no, no, NO. Get off the limb, RIGHT NOW." He insisted.

"Are you joking? She's a riot. She sings karaoke, she has a lot of free time, looks aren't that important to her…"

"No, Portia. It's NOT happening. I'm fine, really."

"Okay, forget Betty. How about my cousin, Rose?"

"No."

"Maybe my neighbor Gwen?"

"Ugh, NO."

"Oh, oh! I know someone whose husband just died."

In response, Portia got sprayed in the face with a garden hose… which was held by the Grinch.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there." The Grinch said before blasting Portia in the face again; she fell back into a pile of snow behind her. "Or there. Come on, Max. Let's get out of here."

Max barked as he and his master resumed their trek back home, unaware of Martha May walking in the direction of the school.

"Okay, I have everything I need. I think I'm ready." She said to herself. "It's no big deal, just a simple job interview. Just be cool, just be…"

Before Martha could say anything else, she stepped on a patch of ice and she immediately started to slip out of control. She slid down the road and past other Whos as she tried not to embarrass herself; the Whos she passed only watched in confusion, unsure of what to make of what happened. And just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, she noticed an icy slope facing up and she was heading right towards it. As he was walking, the Grinch started to hear distant screams and he paused.

"Do you hear something, Max?" He asked.

"No, no, no, no, NOOOOO!" Martha cried as she flew through the air… and crashed right into the Grinch.

Martha tumbled into a snow bank while the Grinch laid face first in the snow, struggling to get himself free. Martha groaned, sat up, and brushed the snow from her hair and clothes.

"Well, at least the snow is still nice and soft." She muttered as the Grinch emerged from the snow bank.

"Ugh! What the heck was that? What happened? Didn't you see me?" He yelled, standing up and wiping snow from his fur and eyes.

"Huh? Oh my gosh! I am so sorry, sir. I was just in a hurry and I wasn't looking where I was going." Martha then spotted a few food items from the wagon Max was pulling strewn about on the ground. "And I made you drop your groceries. Here, let me get those." She got down onto her knees and started to pick up a few things.

"What? Oh, no it's okay. I'll get it myself." Grinch said, kneeling down and doing the same thing.

They picked up almost everything, except for one can of Who Hash. They both reached out to grab it, only for their hands to touch. They silently gasped and looked up, but they remained silent. The Grinch stared at the young woman in front of him with wide eyes; she looked very familiar. Where had he seen those eyes before?

"…Mr. _Grinch_?" She asked in shock; she pulled away and stood up.

"Uh, yes?" He said as he stood up, still holding the can.

"I… wow."

The Grinch opened his mouth to speak before he paused and looked at the woman carefully; she was wearing a white blouse, a pinkish red vest, and a dark red knee-length skirt underneath an emerald green overcoat, she also had white gloves on her hands and a pair of sleek black boots on her feet. She gave him a nervous smile and he quickly froze. That smile, that long red hair, those sparkling blue eyes? No, it couldn't be. It wasn't possible.

"Martha May?!" He exclaimed.

"You remember me?" She asked with hope in her voice.

"Yes, yes I _do_. I remember you. How could I forget the little girl who slid down Mt. Crumpit on a sled and nearly died?"

She giggled. "Well, it _has_ been almost thirty years since we've last seen each other."

"I guess so. And you've changed… a _lot_. You're all grown up."

"And you. You haven't changed a bit. Well, except for your haircut."

"Oh yeah, that." They laughed. "But, what are you doing here?"

"I just moved here."

"You did? You mean _you're_ the one who bought that vacant house on Cheer Road?"

"Yep, that's me. It was my family's vacation home, so I decided to buy it for myself."

"Wow, I had no idea." Grinch looked down as Max barked. "Huh? Oh, you remember Max, right?"

"Max?" Martha looked down and gasped at the sight of the little brown dog; she grinned. "Oh my gosh!" She knelt down and started to pet Max and scratch his ears and back as he excitedly hopped into her lap and started to lick her face. "Max, you've gotten so big! Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" Max barked. She looked up at the Grinch before standing up. "I'm still floored. It's just so good to see you."

"It's good to see you too." Grinch said. "_I_ still can't believe how long it's been. I was starting to think you might've forgotten about me."

"Forget about _you_? Never! I'm just so glad _you_ remember _me_, even after all this time." Martha said before she realized something. "Oh no! What time is it?"

"Uh, 9:30, I think."

"Oh no! Where's my portfolio?! I'm going to be so late!" Martha got on all fours and started to desperately search the snow for the folder she needed.

"Late? Late for what?"

"I have a job interview at 10:00 today and I can_not_ be late! Oh, where is it?!"

The Grinch looked around and saw a vanilla folder safely sitting on the ground a few feet away.

He picked it up and said, "Is _this_ what you're looking for?"

Martha looked up and smiled before she stood up and grabbed the folder. "Yes! Oh, thank you, thank you! Thank you!"

"No problem." Grinch said before he thought of something. "Oh, I just remembered." He rummaged through a tool box attached to Max's wagon and he pulled out a small box with a ribbon tied around it. He gave it to Martha. "This should help you get to your interview."

"Really? What is it?" Martha asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Put it on the ground, remove the ribbon, and find out."

Shrugging her shoulders, Martha did as she was told and to her surprise, the tiny box opened up and it transformed into a huge red, green, and white snowmobile. Martha's eyes widened at the Grinch, unable to find the words.

"…_How_?" She asked.

"You like it? I designed it myself." Grinch said proudly. "This little baby should get you to your interview in no time. Trust me."

Reluctantly, Martha climbed onto the snowmobile and it immediately roared to life. She turned her head to face him.

"I-I don't know what to say." She said, flabbergasted.

"No need. And don't worry; think of it as a late 'Welcome to Whoville' gift." Grinch said. "I'm happy to help."

"You _are_? Since when?"

"Well, since—"

Before the Grinch had a chance to continue, Martha's watch suddenly beeped. She checked it and saw that it was now 9:40.

"Oh! Sorry, but I'd better get going. I hope I'll see you around, Mr. Grinch. Bye." Martha said before she sped off in the direction of the school.

"…See you later, Martha." Grinch said. He looked back at Max who was giving him a curious look. "What?" He sighed. "Come on, let's go home."

He and Max walked in the direction of Mt. Crumpit.


	3. First Day

"Cindy-Lou, sweetheart! It's time for school!" Donna called form the kitchen.

"Coming!" Cindy-Lou yelled as she came down the stairs.

"Wow, that was fast." Donna remarked.

"Yeah. I heard our class is getting a new teacher today and I don't want to be late to meet her." Cindy-Lou said as she went to the table to get herself some breakfast.

"Really? Whatever happened to Mrs. Sturnentine?"

"She retired just after Christmas."

"She _did_? I didn't know that."

"Yeah, Principal Welltether made the announcement not too long ago. But she said she wanted to keep it secret. I guess she just didn't want anyone else to make a big deal about it."

"I guess that makes sense."

After wolfing down a bowl of cereal and milk for breakfast and kissing her mother and brothers goodbye, Cindy-Lou hopped onto her little snow bike and rode off to school. At the school entrance, she met up with her best friend, Groopert.

"Hey, Cindy-Lou." The little redhead boy greeted as Cindy parked her bike.

"Hi, Groopert." Cindy said as she and her friend went inside. "Have you heard anything about the new teacher?"

"Not much, only that the teacher is a lady and Mrs. Sturnentine isn't coming back."

"Well, I'm happy for her retirement. I mean, she's been working at the school for _thirty-five years_; she deserves time to relax."

"Yeah, I guess so."

They entered the classroom and took their seats just as the school bell rang. It was then that Principal Welltether came in; he stood in front of the class.

"Good morning, kids." He said warmly.

"Good morning, Principal Welltether." The class said.

"Now I suppose you all know that your teacher, Mrs. Sturnentine, has recently retired and she won't be teaching your class anymore. So, as of today, you'll be getting a brand new teacher."

And with that, a young woman with long red hair and blue eyes stepped into the classroom with a big smile on her face. Cindy-Lou's face brightened as she recognized her almost instantly.

"Everyone, meet Martha May." Welltether said as she stood next to him.

"Hello, Miss May." The kids said in unison.

"Hi, kids." Martha May said in a kind voice. "It's so nice to meet you all. I'm just really happy to be here."

Welltether smiled. "Well, I'd better leave you to your first lesson of the day. And kids, be good. You all know how scary your first day of school was so be sure to behave yourselves for Miss May. This is _her_ first day, too. Be sure to treat her with the utmost respect, just you'd treat any other teacher."

"Yes, sir." The kids said as the principal calmly walked out of the classroom.

The door closed and Martha picked up a clipboard from the desk. "Okay, first on the agenda today: Roll call. Now let's see here. Groopert?"

"Here!"

"Izzy?"

"Here!"

"Ozzy?"

"Here!"

"Cindy-Lou?"

"Here!"

Martha smiled and checked the names on the list with a blue pen.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"I can't believe it, Max. I just _can't_ believe it." The Grinch ranted as he paced the floor of his kitchen. "Martha May is back. Martha May is BACK. Can you believe it?"

Max rolled his eyes, knowing that his master has been saying this since Saturday morning; he believed it alright. It was already getting old.

"What should I do, Max? We barely even talked." Grinch continued. "I've got to see her again. Oh, I know! Why don't I just go over to her house this afternoon and we can talk more then? Yeah, that sounds perfect. But what if she doesn't _want_ to talk? But she's my friend. But it's been almost _three_ decades. What can we even talk about?"

Max remained silent.

"…Yeah, you're right. I _should_ go see her today." He checked the clock sitting on the counter and saw that it was 3:00; he grabbed his red and white scarf. "I'll go right now… You wanna come with me, Max?"

Max suddenly perked up and barked happily in response. And with that, they headed out the door and down the mountain towards town.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"And that just about covers today's lesson." Martha said as she closed a basic math textbook and set it on the desk. "You all did wonderfully. I see you've been practicing."

Axl raised his hand. "That's because we didn't have much choice. Mrs. Sturnentine always gave us pop quizzes, even on _Fridays_."

"Is that so? Well in that case, I suppose we'll have to make some changes. From now on, no more pop quizzes. Only _one_ test covering everything we learned during that time every couple of weeks, _not_ every Friday. How does that sound?"

The students all looked at one another and whispered some things to each other before turning back to face Martha.

"Sounds good to me." Ozzy commented.

"Me too." Izzy added.

"Why not?" Groopert said.

"Sure, I think we'll be okay with that." Cindy-Lou said.

"Good." The bell rang and the kids all got up from their chairs to grab their things. "Class dismissed. I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Bye, Miss May." The students said before heading out the door, leaving Martha with a big smile on her face.

"First day of my new job and I think I _already_ made a good impression." She said to herself, grabbing her coat and bag. "Not bad, Martha May. Not bad at all."

Cindy-Lou and her friends stood at their lockers, talking about the new teacher.

"I don't know about you guys, but I really like Miss May." Cindy said, grabbing her winter coat.

"I like her, too." Groopert replied. "She's so sweet and nice."

"And she seems to know what she's doing." Izzy added.

"I don't know. You all know how Mrs. Sturnentine was when _she_ was teaching us." Ozzy remarked.

"Yeah, she would give one of us detention if our shoelaces weren't the same color as our shoes. I mean, who does that?" Axl ranted.

"Come on, guys. Give her a chance. Miss May is _nothing_ like Mrs. Sturnentine, I know it." Cindy-Lou said, shutting her locker and walking away.

"Whatever you want to tell yourself, Cindy-Lou." Ozzy said.

Cindy was just about to untie her bike from the bike rack when she ran into Martha.

"Oh, hi Miss May." She said.

"Hi, Cindy-Lou." Martha replied. "Just about to go home?"

"Yep. So is it true you really knew my mom?"

"Yeah, a long time ago. Donna and I met when we were a little older than you. We had a lot of fun together and we—"

Before Martha could continue, she suddenly felt someone bump into her and she nearly fell over.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Cindy asked.

"Yeah, I'm good." Martha replied before turning around to see the Grinch standing there.

"Martha!" He exclaimed.

"Mr. Grinch! What are you doing here?" Martha asked.

"I wanted to talk to you." He looked up at the school. "You work here now?"

"Yeah, it was my first day."

"So you became a teacher after all, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah I guess I did. What are the odds?"

They shared a giggle.

Cindy-Lou stared at the two adults with wide eyes. "Hold up… you two know each other, too?"

Martha and the Grinch looked at each other before looking back at the little girl, whose eyes seemed even wider.

"It's a long story." Martha said with a nervous smile.

Cindy smiled; she loved to hear a good story.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"So… you met Miss May when she was little?" Cindy asked as she, Martha, and the Grinch made their way towards Cindy's house.

"Well, yeah. Martha and I met the same year she and your mom met." The Grinch answered.

"Wow…"

They arrived at Cindy's house.

"Oh, here's my stop." Cindy said as she got off of her bike. "Thanks for walking me home. I'll see you tomorrow, Miss May. And see you later, Mr. Grinch. You too, Max."

"Bye, Cindy-Lou." Martha and Grinch said in unison before Cindy went inside.

The Grinch glanced over at Martha before anxiously asking, "You want me to walk _you_ home?"

"Oh? Sure, that'd be nice." Martha said as she and Grinch started to walk; Max followed close behind.

"So… what brings you back to Whoville?" Grinch asked.

Martha paused; she couldn't tell her oldest friend the real reason she was here. What would he think? How would he react?

"Oh, um… a change of scenery, I guess." She hesitantly replied.

"I get it. And what exactly have you been doing with yourself all this time?"

"I've… been working at a fashion magazine."

"A… a fashion magazine?"

"Yeah, Who Runway. I'm sure you've heard of it. I started out as Johanna Starling's second assistant, and then I was promoted to Company Holiday Decorator _and_ Fashion Consultant."

"Really?"

"Yep. And I've been working there for thirteen years."

"_Thirteen years_?! Wow, that's… that's really something."

"Yeah, I get that a lot. But I was recently fired from Who Runway."

"Fired?! What happened?"

"I told Johanna that I've had enough of that place and her… and I might've sprayed her in the face with some hot coffee and soda water."

The Grinch's eyes widened. "Wow. That is nuts."

"Yeah, it was. But oddly enough, I _don't_ regret it. Not at all. That was probably the best decision of my life. Now I'm back in the one place I feel like I belong. It's a shame I didn't come during Christmastime, though."

Grinch went quiet; he had forgotten how much Martha May loved Christmas. He thought about what she would think of she found out what he did this previous Christmas. How would she react? Would she never want to talk to him again?

"Mr. Grinch? Are you okay?" Martha asked.

"Huh? What?" He stuttered.

"You've gone awfully quiet. What's wrong?"

"What? Oh, no. I'm fine. Just lost in thought, I guess. And you don't have to keep calling me Mr. Grinch, Martha. You can just call me Grinch."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Well, yeah."

"Then you shouldn't be so formal with me. Call me Grinch."

"Okay… Grinch." She smiled. "So what have _you_ been up to?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Cindy-Lou seems to like you. Do you have any other friends around town?"

"…I guess I do. I still get kinda nervous when talking to people I don't know too well."

"That's understandable."

"And I stopped spreading rumors about myself."

"I guess that's a bonus. And what about Christmas? Did you spend the day hiding in your cave with Max like you always did or what?"

"Uh, well, I uh…"

"Oh, here's my stop." Martha and Grinch stopped in front of her house. She looked at the Grinch. "It was great talking with you, Grinch. I'd like us to meet up again some time."

"What? Oh… yeah. I'd like that, too." Grinch said, glad for the change of subject.

"Do you think we could meet up at the coffee shop? This Friday? At 3:15?"

"Yeah, I'm free then."

"Great." Martha took out her keys, unlocked her front door, and stepped inside before she gave the Grinch a smile. "I'll see you then." And with that, she shut the door, leaving the Grinch and Max standing on the doorstep.

"Max? …I think I just got myself a date." Grinch said with wide eyes.

Max barked before he and his master started walking in the direction of Mt. Crumpit.

Inside, Martha rummaged through one last box until she found what she was looking for. She took out the homemade Christmas Angel and her framed photo of herself and the Grinch and set them both on a small table near the window. She smiled.


	4. The Coffee Shop

The week went by pretty quickly. Martha grew closer to her class and they really seemed to love having her around. Finally, Friday came along and Martha couldn't be more excited. The moment the school bell rang and the weekend had started, she grabbed her purse and made her way to the coffee shop. After waiting a minute or two at the front of the shop, she saw a familiar face approach.

"Grinch, there you are." Martha said as he walked over to her.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Grinch said rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "Wanna go inside?"

"Sounds good to me."

They went inside and approached the counter. The cashier greeted them with a big smile.

"Hi there, folks. What can I get you?" He asked.

"Just two hot cocoas, please." Grinch said; he turned to Martha. "Anything else?"

Martha then spotted the baked goods sitting in a display case to her right; she smiled and turned her head to the cashier.

"And two sugar cookies." She added.

"Okay. Two cocoas and two sugar cookies, right?" The cashier asked.

"Yep. That's about it." Grinch said.

"Alright. Your total is $5.78."

"I got this." Martha said as she reached into her purse, pulled out ten dollars, and handed it to the young clerk.

He put it into the register and handed her the change. "And $4.22 is your change."

"Thank you." She put the change in her purse.

She and the Grinch waited and soon, their order had come.

"Here you go. Have a nice day."

"Thanks." Grinch said, taking the two cups.

"Thank you." Martha added, taking the cookies.

They found a good place to sit; a small table right next to the window near the door. They sat down and took a cup before Martha took a sip.

"Mmmm, I've forgotten how good the cocoa is here." She lamented.

"Yeah, Whoville sure does have some quality hot chocolate." Grinch nervously chuckled, taking a sip from his cup.

Martha giggled before pausing. "So… how'd you do it?"

Grinch froze and nearly choked on his drink. "…Do what?"

"You know… get on good terms with everyone in town? Did you finally tell them that those rumors you spread years ago weren't true, or did Bricklebaum have to help you?"

He sighed in relief. "Well it took quite a bit of work and a lot of convincing that I did _not_ eat children, but I think it was worth it. Whoville and I have been on good terms for a little while now."

"How long?"

"Since… since… since Christmas."

Martha paused. "Christmas? Well _now_ you have my interest. What happened?"

"Oh, uh um… i-i-i-it, um… it's no big deal."

"What? No big deal? Come on, you can tell me."

"Well… it's a long story. And I don't wanna bore you."

"I've got time. And you _never_ bore me. Just tell me already, please?"

The Grinch cringed and twiddled his thumbs under the table, unsure of what to say or how to say it. Martha stared at him with pleading eyes, begging him to tell her what was bothering him. Then he got up from his chair.

"Sorry, I need some air." He said before heading over to the restroom.

Martha sighed and frowned. "What was that all about?"

"You haven't heard." An unfamiliar voice said.

Martha turned her head around and saw a well-dressed older woman sitting at a table a few feet away from her; she was reading the newspaper. She had short graying brown hair, deep brown eyes, and a rather stern look on her face. Martha raised an eyebrow at the stranger.

"Heard what?" She asked.

The woman took a sip from her Espresso and faced the young woman. "You don't know what the Grinch did this Christmas. It was something truly ghastly; the nerve of some people."

"What do you mean 'ghastly'?"

"The Grinch has always been such a bad influence. He hated Christmas more than anything in the Land of Seuss. He would spend the holiday up in his cave all alone. But this last Christmas? Oh, this last Christmas he did something truly _unforgivable_."

"…What did he do?"

"He STOLE Christmas."

Martha's eyes widened in shock. "What? But-but… why? _How_? I-I don't understand."

"Of course you don't understand; you weren't there when it happened. He stole everyone's presents, trees, decorations, food for our feasts, EVERYTHING related to Christmas. All because he was jealous of our happiness and wanted to see us suffer."

Martha remained silent; she had no idea what to make of this. That couldn't be true, it just couldn't be.

'The Grinch would _never_ do something like that… _would_ he?' She thought.

Then she paused and thought of something else. "Wait a minute… why are _you_ telling _me_ this?"

"Because you're new." The woman coldly replied. "…and you basically _replaced_ me. It's so unfair."

"Replaced you?" Martha put two and two together. "…_You're_ Mrs. Sturnentine?"

"Indeed I am. Sandra Sturnentine, it's a pleasure to meet you."

They shook hands, but Martha could tell that this woman wasn't very pleased to meet her at all.

"So how's your new job going?" Mrs. Sturnentine asked.

"Uh, good. It's going good." Martha answered. "The kids really seem to like me."

"Don't get too comfortable. They can be little savages."

"Savages? It's only been a week."

"Appearances can be deceiving."

Martha then paused at this statement. "Then how do I know you're not lying to me about the Grinch?"

"Because I took care of him in his youth. Now that he's an adult, he's nothing but ungrateful."

"…I don't believe that. And I don't believe _you_. I've known him when I was a little girl and he was nothing but a good friend to me. If he ever did anything like you said, then I want to hear it from the Grinch himself."

"Hmph, very well. But don't say I didn't warn you. And don't worry; _everyone_ in the world has some deep dark secret. _Yours_ can't be that bad."

Martha suddenly froze. And with that, Mrs. Sturnentine smirked, picked up her newspaper, finished her coffee, and headed out the front door… just as the Grinch came back.

"Sorry about that. I just had to be alone for a bit. Hey, everything okay?" He asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm okay." Martha lied, clearing her throat. "I'm sorry, it's just… something that woman just told me. It… kinda got to me."

"What woman? What did she say?" Grinch asked, sounding concerned.

"Uh… I'll tell you later. Why don't we just finish our cocoa before it gets cold?" Martha insisted, sitting back down.

"Sounds good to me." Grinch said, sitting down across from Martha. "Because I've had cold cocoa once and once was enough."

She giggled and picked up her cup before taking a sip. "Hmm, still warm."

They shared a laugh before Martha paused. "Hey, Grinch? Can you promise me something?"

"Sure, Martha. What is it?" Grinch asked, gulping down some more of his cocoa.

"Promise me that if you want to talk about anything, even if it's nothing, you can come to me."

"Where are you going with this?"

"I'm just trying to say that if something's bothering you, I'm here to listen. I promise I won't judge you or think any less of you."

"…Really?"

"Of course."

Grinch paused for a few seconds before looking back at Martha with a sheepish smile. "Okay, I promise."

She smiled back and picked up her cookie. "To a fresh start."

Grinch picked up his own cookie. "A fresh start."

They tapped their cookies together and each took a bite, smiles adorning their faces. Little did either of them know that Mrs. Sturnentine was watching them from the window. She left without saying a word.


	5. Talking Things Out

For the next few days, Martha really loved her new job as a teacher. She would make learning as fun as possible for her students and that made the kids love her with all their hearts, and she loved them too.

One Friday afternoon, the kids were all gathered in a corner of the classroom around Martha. She was reading them a story.

"'_Little pig, little pig, let me in.' The Big Bad Wolf said._" Martha narrated. "_'Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin!' The little pig cried. 'Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in!' Then the Wolf huffed and puffed, and he blew the house of straw in. Luckily, the little pig scrambled away from the Wolf and ran as fast as he could to his brother's house of sticks._"

As she was reading, she didn't notice the Grinch walking outside the window. He was passing by when he stopped and looked into the classroom. There she was, Martha May reading fairy tales to Cindy-Lou Who and her friends who were listening to every word. Martha had a smile on her face the whole time. Her long blazing red hair, her shining sapphire blue eyes, and her joy-filled smile; she looked so… pretty.

'Wait, _pretty_?' Grinch thought, shaking his head and blinking a few times.

He had never thought of anyone in this town as pretty before. Martha May was several years _younger_ than him; she was a _child_ when they first met. What was happening to him? Why would he be thinking these thoughts? And why _now_? He looked back at the window and decided to go inside and pay the class a quick visit. He headed towards the front door, but Max had to wait outside. Unfortunately, dogs weren't allowed in.

"Sorry, boy." Grinch knelt down and scratched the dog's ears. "I promise this will only take a minute."

Max whimpered sadly as the Grinch got up and walked into the school. He headed in the direction he thought was Martha's classroom when he suddenly stopped when he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"Hello, Grinch." Welltether's voice said.

Grinch turned around to see Principal Welltether walking towards him. He froze.

"Oh, hi." Grinch said awkwardly.

"What brings _you_ here?" Welltether asked with a smirk.

"Oh, you know, just wandering around. Seeing what everyone's up to and how life is and—"

"You're here to see Martha, aren't you?"

"What? See _Martha_? Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. I was just, I-I mean, I uh…"

"It's okay." Welltether put a hand on the Grinch's shoulder. "There's no reason to be afraid."

"…There is, though." Grinch said after a pause; he glanced over at the door of Martha's classroom. "She doesn't know what I did this Christmas. What would happen if she finds out? What would she say? What would she do? I…" He sighed. "…I just don't want her to hate me."

"What makes you think she _would_?"

They both glanced at the door to see Martha still reading the book to her students.

"_The Wolf fell down the chimney and landed in the pot of boiling, bubbling water._" Martha narrated from behind the door. "_He cried out in pain and ran out of the house and into the woods, never to be seen again. Now the three little Pigs were as happy as could be. They lived in the brick house together and they all lived happily ever after. The End._" She smiled as she closed the book.

"That was such a good story." Groopert commented as he and his classmates stood up.

"Thank you, Miss May." Cindy-Lou added.

"You're very welcome, kids." Martha beamed.

"Does _that_ look like the face of someone who could or _would_ hold a grudge against an old friend?" Welltether asked.

The school bell rang before the Grinch had a chance to answer. Before he knew it, the hallways were suddenly flooded with students ready to head home for the weekend, including Cindy-Lou and her friends.

"Have a good weekend, kids. And remember that your drawings are due Monday." Martha called out from inside the classroom.

"Yes, Miss May. Bye." The kids said.

Cindy-Lou then saw the Grinch and smiled. "Hey, Mr. Grinch! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Uh… I just wanted to say hi and see how things were going." Grinch answered.

"Where's Max?"

"He's waiting outside. I'm sure he'd be pretty happy to see you."

And with that, the little blonde girl grabbed her things and happily headed towards the doors to see her little canine friend. When every student had left the room, Welltether put a hand on Grinch's shoulder.

"Go get her." He whispered before pushing him into the classroom.

The door suddenly closed behind him. Grinch looked to see Martha straightening out some papers at her desk at the other end of the room. He nervously walked over and cleared his throat. Martha looked up.

"Oh, Grinch. What brings you here?" She asked with a friendly smile.

"Hey, Martha. I know you're busy, but… I kinda wanted to talk to you about something." Grinch replied.

"Okay. What did you want to talk about?"

Grinch took in a breath and nervously scratched the back of his neck. Martha paused.

"Is everything okay, Grinch?" She asked.

"Me? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. It's just… oh, this is so difficult."

"What's difficult?"

Grinch scrunched up his face before he let out a heavy sigh in defeat. "It was me. I stole Christmas from Whoville."

'So it's true…?' Martha's eyes widened and her mouth opened ever so slightly, but she remained silent.

"I stole it because… because I thought it would fix something that happened to me a long time ago." He solemnly explained. "But it didn't… and I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry, for everything."

"…Why are you apologizing to _me_?" She asked.

"Because…" Grinch shut his eyes and hung his head in shame. "…because I know how much you love Christmas and this town and I just thought—"

He suddenly felt someone grab his shoulders. He opened his eyes to see Martha looking at him with a stern look on her face with her hands on his shoulders.

"I know." She said.

"Wait, _what_?" He asked. "You knew?! How?"

"Mrs. Sturnentine told me last week at the coffee shop."

"Hold up, Mrs. _Sturnentine_?"

"Yes."

"And… you're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"I practically _stole_ your favorite holiday."

"Not from _me_."

"But I stole it from _everyone else_ in this town."

"Did you give everything back?"

"Yes.

"Did you apologize to the townspeople?"

"Well… yes."

"And did they forgive you?"

"…Yes."

"Then… why haven't you told me this sooner?"

Grinch nervously grimaced. "I was worried that if I did, you'd never want to be friends with me again."

Martha's eyes softened. "…Is that what you're afraid of?"

He nodded.

"Well… you shouldn't be afraid. You made a mistake, so what? Sure it was kind of a big one, but everyone messes up sometimes. Some people just mess up more than others."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say that it's okay. People mess up in the past and they'll probably mess up a bunch more in the future, but people _learn_ from their mistakes. That's what growing up is. The past is in the past, you've already learned your lesson, and now you're cool with practically everyone in Whoville."

"Not everyone."

"That's not the point. The point is that wisdom comes from experience and experience comes from making mistakes."

Grinch paused. "…Since when did _you_ get so wise?"

Martha paused and smirked in embarrassment. "Believe it or not, I've made quite a few mistakes back in Who York. I worked at Who Runway for thirteen years, for crying out loud."

"Oh, right. You mentioned that."

"Yeah. Johanna Starling wasn't exactly the easiest person to talk to."

"I can only imagine. I heard that people would call her a dragon."

"She _did_ have some pretty bad breath in the morning."

They laughed.

"But what made you leave Who Runway again?" Grinch inquired.

"Oh! Um… just a change of scenery." Martha fibbed. "Like I said, I never felt at home in that big bustling city. Plus… I missed you."

"You did?"

"Of course." Martha got up from her desk and walked over to the Grinch. "You were basically my best friend."

"_Best_ friend?"

She nodded.

"I'm just glad we're on the same page."

"Me, too. Hey, what do you say we meet up again? Maybe tomorrow at noon?"

"That sounds nice." Grinch said after a moment. "I could come over to your house and see what you did with the place."

"Sounds great." Martha picked up her bag and smiled as she and Grinch headed towards the door.

They exited the classroom and Martha locked the door behind her.

"I'll see you then." She smiled.

"Yeah, see ya." He smirked.

The Grinch walked down the hall and exited the school; Martha let out a soft sigh.

"Another date?" Welltether's voice asked.

Martha turned around to see Welltether standing behind her with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"It's not a date." Martha claimed, trying to sound innocent. "It's just a get togeth—Wait… How much of that did you hear?"

"Only all of it."

"Right."

"I'm sorry; it's just so wonderful to have you here with us, Martha."

"Thank you, Mr. Welltether."

"Please, just Sven is fine."

"One step at a time, okay? You're kind of my boss. But you're much better than my last one, I'll give you that."

"Johanna Starling?"

"Yep, that's her."

"…Why did you work at Who Runway?"

Martha froze; she couldn't tell Welltether about her time in Who York.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Welltether chimed in.

"I don't?" Martha asked.

"Of course not. I'm sorry if it's too personal."

"It's okay; it's just… really hard to talk about."

"I understand. But if you ever decide that you want to talk, my door is always open."

"Thanks."

"And I'm pretty sure somebody else would be there to listen as well."

"Grinch? …He wouldn't understand."

"What makes you think he wouldn't?" Suddenly, Welltether's watch beeped. "Oh, sorry, Martha. I've got to go. My wife really hates it when I'm late."

"Right, sorry."

"I'll see you on Monday. Have a nice weekend."

"Thanks, you too."

And with that, they exited the school building and walked off in different directions. As Martha walked home, she thought about what the Grinch would think if he ever found out about August May-Who and what he did to her. What would he think? Would he hate her? And worst of all, what would August do if he found her? These thoughts raced in her mind, unable to leave her be. She arrived at her house.

As she lounged back in her chair, she looked at the framed photo sitting on the side table. She picked it up and smiled, excited for tomorrow.


	6. Coffee

Saturday came very quickly. It was almost noon and the Grinch had to hurry to Martha's house, which was rather difficult with Max constantly getting distracted.

"Come on, Max! Martha is expecting us! You don't need to stop to sniff a different tree every five seconds." Grinch complained as he continued to walk.

He was only a few feet away from Martha's house when he felt someone bump into him. He looked down and saw that it was Cindy-Lou. She grinned up at him; his face brightened at the sight of her.

"Hi, Mr. Grinch!" The little girl beamed.

"Hey, Cindy-Lou." Grinch said.

The minute Max heard Cindy-Lou's name, he instantly stopped what he was doing and ran over to her as fast as he could. He practically jumped into her lap and affectionately licked her face.

"Whoa! Hey, Max!" Cindy giggled as she scratched the dog's head.

"Whatcha doing out here?" Grinch asked as he knelt down to her height.

"I was just on my way to meet up with Groopert. Sorry I bumped into you by the way, I was just so caught up in this music." She turned off an MP3 player and stuck it into her coat pocket. "I was listening to this new band called the SeussTube Six. They're actually really cool."

"SeussTube Six, huh?"

"Yeah, you wanna listen? Or make funny faces instead?"

"I'd love to, but I'm kind of in a hurry. I have to meet with Miss May at her house at noon."

"At her house? Oh, okay."

"…But I'm sure I could spare a little time."

"Really? Okay! Say 'I'm smooshy'!"

Cindy then pressed her tiny hands on the Grinch's cheeks and squished his lips and cheeks as close as possible.

"I am smooshy." He joked.

They laughed.

"Okay, okay. Your turn. Say 'Boy, is it windy'." Grinch said before he put his thumbs in Cindy's mouth and stretching her lips out as far as they could go.

"Boy is it windy!" Cindy said.

As they laughed, the Grinch looked to his right and saw Martha May standing at the window that was closest to the snow-covered road, watching and listening to everything. The Grinch blushed in embarrassment and quickly stopped laughing; she smiled and giggled before opening her window and sticking her head out.

"Looks like you two are having fun." Martha called out.

"Hi, Miss May!" Cindy called, waving her tiny hand in the air.

"Hello, Cindy-Lou." Martha greeted before turning her head to give the Grinch a playful smirk.

"What?" He asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Are you _always_ this good with kids?"

"Uh… I don't know how to respond to that."

"I should probably leave you two alone. I'll see you later, Mr. Grinch. See you on Monday, Miss May." Cindy Lou said before hopping into her sledding tube and heading down the road.

Martha closed the window and opened the door just as the Grinch and Max made their way to the doorstep. They smiled at each other.

"Come on in, Grinch." Martha said as Grinch wiped his snow-covered feet on the doormat and stepped inside.

"Thanks." He said as he looked around; Martha closed the door after Max went inside. "Wow, I really like what you've done with the place."

"Thanks, I decorated it myself. You want some coffee? I just brewed a fresh pot."

"Oh sure, thanks."

"No problem, I'll go get it. Make yourself at home."

Martha went over to the kitchen and the Grinch went to the living room with Max following him. He took a seat on the sofa and a few moments later, Martha came back with two cups of coffee and she gave one to her guest.

"Thanks." He said before taking a sip; he was pleasantly surprised. "Wow! Now THAT is a great cup of coffee."

"Thanks. I learned a few things while I was working for Johanna." Martha said as she took a sip.

"What do you mean?"

"While I was her second assistant, I used to run _tons_ of errands for her like getting her coffee, fetching her lunch or dinner, or walking her massive dog around the city."

Max quickly perked up at the mention of another dog. Martha giggled as she looked down at him.

"No, Max, I didn't mean you." She affectionately scratched his head.

"Wow. You did all of that as her second assistant?" Grinch asked.

"Yep. Then after several weeks, Johanna decided to promote me. She gave me the job of Company Decorator AND official Fashion Consultant."

"I didn't know those were even real things."

"Me neither. But she gave me the job anyway."

"Well, company decorator does sound like it's right up your alley."

"Yeah, I guess… but I _hated_ working at Who Runway."

"You did? Why?"

"It was basically the same boring thing every day and… I just couldn't take it." She didn't bring up August's threats and abuse during that time. "Let's just say… fashion is a pretty crazy industry, and I'd choose working with kids any day." Suddenly a thought popped into her head. "Speaking of kids, you seem to be pretty close with Cindy-Lou."

"Oh, yeah. She and I have become pretty good friends."

"Was it before or after the Christmas incident?"

Grinch sighed in defeat. "After. When I gave everything back, she invited me over to her house for Christmas dinner and I accepted. She taught me that Christmas isn't about presents, food, trees, decorations, and things like that; it was about being with family and friends… and I didn't have that when I was her age. Everyone at her house was so friendly and kind to me and I felt… happy, all thanks to Cindy-Lou Who. That little girl's kindness truly changed everything."

Martha paused. "You… really mean that?"

"Yeah, I guess so… that doesn't mean you haven't."

"But… she's done things that _I_ couldn't."

"Are you saying… you're _jealous_?"

Martha's eyes widened and she nearly dropped her cup of coffee. "What?"

"You're jealous of a six-year-old?"

"Well, I-I-I, uh…"

Grinch reached out and took her hand. "Look, just because I have a new friend does NOT mean that you're any less important to me. You were basically my first official friend; no one can _ever_ take your place and I could _never_ forget you."

Martha gave him a small nervous smile. "You're serious?"

"Of course." He set his cup on the coffee table and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "You have no idea how much I missed you."

A tear ran down Martha's cheek as she hugged him back; she wanted to hug him again for so long. She smiled as she felt the warmth of his body and the softness of his green fur; she almost didn't want to let go.

"I missed you too." She whispered.

The Grinch then smelled something; it was almost fruity. "Hmm. What's that smell?" He and Martha parted.

"Smell?" She asked, wiping her eyes.

"I think it was… cherries, or something?"

"_Black_ cherries. It's this new shampoo I'm using."

"Well I like it."

"You do?"

"Yeah, it really suits you."

"Thanks." She smiled and blushed before she had an idea. "Do you think we could make our little hang-outs… a regular thing?"

The Grinch paused. "You mean… get together every so often?"

"Yeah, I mean if you're up for it. But it's totally fine if you're not. I thought that—"

"No, no, wait! I mean… I'd love that."

"You would?"

"Of course. We need to make up for lost time, don't we?"

"…You're right, we do."

"Then in that case, would you like to go skating with me at the lake tomorrow?"

"That would be _wonderful_."

"Then it's a date."

They both froze and blushed before looking back at one another; they suddenly burst into laughter.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Martha took a sip from her coffee; she couldn't help but smile.

They finished their coffee and talked for a while before the Grinch finally decided it was time for him to head home. He got up and walked over to the door; he grabbed his scarf.

"Are you sure you have to leave? You can always stay for dinner." Martha offered.

"That sounds great, but I don't want to be a bother." The Grinch answered, wrapping his scarf around his neck. "So what time should I pick you up tomorrow? Or should I just meet you there?"

"…Eleven o'clock is fine."

"Eleven it is. See you then."

"See ya."

The Grinch and Max walked away and Martha closed the door. The moment he left, Martha was disappointed to see him go so soon, but she was also excited for what tomorrow would bring. Before heading to the kitchen to make herself dinner, she couldn't stop thinking about the Grinch. His shining green eyes, his laugh, his charming smile; Martha couldn't get him out of her mind.

Martha was so busy that she didn't even notice the Grinch pass by her garbage cans. For some reason, something caught his eye and he stopped. He knew it was wrong to snoop, but his curiosity get the better of him and he looked through the newest trash. He saw letters and old photographs in broken frames; they looked rather recent and he wondered what they would be doing in the trash. Being as discreet as possible, he took a few letters and one photo and went back home.

As he sat at his desk, he read the letters he took and they almost disturbed him.

He started reading the first letter. '_Why did things have to be that way?_

_It didn't have to happen like that. You have nobody to blame but yourself and I'm so, so angry with you. We could have worked things out. We could have made it work. I love you. Even in our worst moments, you knew that. How could you not? I did everything for you, GAVE everything for you. You were so ungrateful. You still are._'

Then he moved on to the second one. '_You know I didn't mean it. I just got so angry. You do that to me, you know – you make me angry. And it hurt me, too, to do that. You have no idea how bad I felt about it the next day. And besides, that fight nearly broke my hand. You aren't the only one that came out hurt._'

Then he read the third. '_I wish you'd listened. I wish you hadn't tried to run. You thought I wouldn't find out about your plans? You thought you'd be safe there? What a joke. You KNEW you were safe with me. I just lose my temper sometimes, who doesn't? You're supposed to love me, only me, and that means loving EVERYTHING about me. Or were those vows a lie?_'

And finally, he read the fourth. '_It's your fault. It's your fault for talking about dingy, ugly, hick town like Whoville so often in the past. It's your fault for hurting me when you knew I was already in pain. It's your fault for making me so angry that I did something to hurt you again._

_Don't you understand? It's your fault. And now you have to be punished for it._'

"_Punished_?" He asked himself with a scoff. "Who does this guy think he is? Why would he send these to Martha?"

He then looked at the photo. It was of Martha and a short round man he didn't recognize; the man in the picture looked very happy, but Martha looked very nervous, almost scared. Grinch couldn't help but sneer at the man in the picture; he had no idea who he was, but the Grinch felt he resented him already. He felt that whoever that man was, he must've threatened Martha… maybe in more than one way.

'If he _tries_ to hurt Martha May, I'll make him regret it.' He thought

He then ripped up the letters and photo and threw them into his own trash can before heading off to the kitchen to fix dinner for himself and Max.


	7. Skating Incident

Many days went by and the Grinch and Martha May started seeing each other regularly. Whenever she wasn't working, Martha would spend most of her free time with the Grinch. They would either go skating, go for a walk, or even out to lunch and they would just talk and laugh as if they were best friends.

One day, they decided to go ice skating again. Martha was searching for her ice skates; she looked all over the house and for some reason, she couldn't find them anywhere. But then she looked through the window near the door to see the Grinch approach her house on a pine green snowmobile. She smiled, momentarily looking away.

'_There's something sweet and almost kind_' She sang in her head.

'_But he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined_

_And now he's dear and so I'm sure_

_I wonder why I didn't see it there before_'

There was a knock at the door. Martha answered and smiled to see Grinch holding two pairs of skates in his hands.

"Are those _my_ skates?" She asked.

"Maybe, maybe not…" He answered.

Martha playfully shoved him and laughed. "Just let me grab my coat real quick. I'll only take a second."

"Take your time."

The door closed, leaving Grinch alone with his thoughts.

'_She glanced this way, I thought I saw_' He thought.

'_And when we touched she didn't shudder at my paw_

_No, it can't be, I'll just ignore_

_But then she's never looked at me that way before_'

Martha quickly came back with her coat on. Grinch took her hand and led her to his snowmobile; they climbed on and Martha wrapped her arms around the Grinch's waist as she sat behind him.

"Hold on tight." He said before starting the engine and speeding off towards the lake.

As they rode through the snowy roads of Whoville, Martha smiled and affectionately nuzzled her head against the Grinch's furry back.

'_New and a bit alarming_' She thought.

'_Who'd have ever thought that this could be_

_True, that he's no Prince Charming_

_But there's something in him that I simply didn't see_'

At one point, they raced past Cindy-Lou's house. As she was washing dishes, Donna looked out the window and saw them pass by with a smile; Tina, who was visiting, was standing beside her friend. They looked at each other and smiled.

"_Well, who'd have thought?_" Donna sang.

"_Bless my soul_" Tina added.

"_Who would have known?_"

"_Well, who indeed?_

_And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?_

_It's so odd and cute_"

"_We'll wait and see_" They both sang.

"_A few days more_

_There may be something there that wasn't there before_"

"Here's a thought." Tina pointed out. "Perhaps there is something there that wasn't there before."

"Huh, what?" Cindy-Lou asked as she entered the kitchen.

"_There may be something there that wasn't there before…_" Donna finished

"What is it? What are you guys talking about?" Cindy asked.

"Not now, Cindy-Lou. I'll tell you when you're older." Her mother answered with a smirk.

"How long will _that_ take?"

Tina and Donna laughed.

Martha and the Grinch finally made it to the lake where Max was waiting for them. He barked happily and ran over to Martha as she got off and knelt down to greet him. He jumped into her lap and licked her face.

"Good boy." Martha giggled, scratching his head.

She got up and saw that the Grinch was already tying on his skates. Martha sat down on a nearby bench, took off her boots, and was about to grab the other pair when Grinch suddenly snatched them away before she could.

"Please, allow me." He offered.

Martha rolled her eyes and giggled. The Grinch knelt down in front of her and placed the skates onto her feet; he even laced them up for her.

"Just like Cinderella, huh?" Martha joked.

Grinch shrugged and smirked before offering his hand to her. "May I have this dance?"

Blushing and smiling, Martha accepted his offer and followed him out onto the ice without hesitation. Max hopped onto the bench, made himself comfortable, and watched the pair of them skate. Max smiled and wagged his tail; he hadn't seen his master so happy and if he had, it wasn't too often. But then he noticed something as he watched Martha and the Grinch skate. He noticed a tiny crack in the middle of the lake; if they weren't careful, the ice could break and they could fall.

Max stood up on the bench and barked trying to get their attention, but they were already too far away to hear him. But as Martha was spinning in the middle of the lake, the Grinch noticed the crack in the ice… and it was getting bigger.

"Martha, be caref—" He said, but it was too late.

With a loud crack, Martha screamed and fell right into the lake just as the ice beneath her gave way. The Grinch gasped in horror as he watched her try to keep her head above the water, but her coat was too heavy and sank almost instantly.

"Martha!" He cried out in terror.

Thinking fast, the Grinch took a deep breath and plunged into the freezing water. He swam down to the bottom until he came across Martha slowly sinking deeper and deeper, knocked out cold by the temperature of the water. Luckily, the Grinch grabbed her by the waist and did his best to swim back up to the hole in the ice, but he was weighed down by the heavy coat Martha was wearing. Only by removing it could he safely haul her to the surface.

With all of his strength, the Grinch made it back up to the surface, pulled Martha out of the water, and placed her onto the bank. Max ran out onto the ice and stuck his head into the hole to fetch her coat. The Grinch shook Martha and pressed down on her chest a few times before she coughed up the water in her lungs, allowing her to breathe again. However, she fell back to the ground, knocked out but still breathing.

"She's ice cold, Max." Grinch said worriedly; he picked her up and placed her coat on top of her body. "Come on, boy; let's take her home to warm up."

Max barked, picked up Martha's boots in his teeth, and followed after his master to Mt. Crumpit.

'Please be okay, Martha. Please be okay.' Grinch thought as he carried his friend, unaware of the pair of eyes watching him leave.


	8. Staying For Dinner

Martha woke up with a start. She sat up and put a hand to her head; what just happened? Where did she go? Where was she now? She looked around and saw that she looked to be in a bed in some kind of cave.

'What in the world?' She thought.

"Hey, you're awake." A familiar voice said.

Martha turned her head in the direction of the voice and saw the Grinch walking towards her with a tray in his hands. She sat up and he carefully set the tray in her lap.

"Grinch? What happened?" She asked.

"While we were skating, the ice broke and you fell into the lake." Grinch answered.

"And… you saved me?"

Grinch paused and blushed. "Yeah, I guess I did. And I brought you up to my place so you can rest and warm up. I made you some tea. Hope that's okay."

Martha looked down at the tray in her lap; there was a cup of piping hot tea. She looked up at him in surprise.

"You did all of this? For _me_?"

"Well… yeah, of course. I couldn't just leave you."

"Wow, that's… um…"

"You don't want the tea? Oh, that's okay. I can take it back. It's no big deal, I just thought—"

"No, no! No, it's _perfect_. Thank you."

"You're not just saying that?"

"Of course not. Thank you, Grinch. I owe you."

"Oh, you don't have to owe me anything. It's what friends do, right?"

"…Yeah, friends." Then she remembered something. "Wait, what time is it?"

"Uh, six thirty, I think."

"Oh man, I should get home." Martha was about to climb out of bed until the Grinch held out his hands to stop her.

"No, no, wait!" He said. "You don't have to go, not yet at least. It's still a Saturday. Why don't you, oh I dunno, maybe… stay here until morning?" He smiled a nervous smile.

Martha stared at her friend in surprise; did he just invite her to stay in his cave for the night? She blinked a few times, unsure of what to say.

"You'd let me stay for tonight?"

"Well… of course. But it's totally up to you."

"You know what? …I'd love to stay the night." She smiled.

He smiled back.

That evening, Martha stayed for dinner. It was wonderful; she and the Grinch talked and laughed for what felt like hours. After dinner, they sat on the floor by the fireplace wrapped up in a warm fuzzy blanket with Max right next to them.

"Tonight was amazing." Martha beamed as she snuggled with the Grinch.

"Yeah, it was." Grinch replied.

It was then that Martha spotted something sitting on the mantle; it looked like a framed picture. She got up, went over to the fireplace, and picked up the frame. It was a picture of a creature that looked exactly like the Grinch, only more feminine. The Grinch stood behind her and held out his hand; she gave it back to him.

"Who is she?" Martha asked.

"…My mother." Grinch answered, solemnly looking at the photo. "I was separated from her a long time ago, when I was really little. I never remembered her voice or her face, but this photo kind of gave me an idea."

"She was beautiful."

"Yeah, I guess she was. This picture is all I have left of her… well this and some other thing." Then he remembered something; he set the picture back in its usual spot. "Oh! Wait here, I'll be right back."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just wait right here, okay?"

"Uh, okay."

Grinch then ran up the stairs to his room, leaving Martha alone with Max. She looked down at the little dog, wondering what the Grinch could possibly be doing until he came back a minute later. He was holding something small folded in a silk handkerchief. A small piece of paper was in his other hand.

"This note said that I should only give this to someone I thought was special." He said before handing Martha the bundle. "But right now, I can't think of anyone else who deserves it more than you."

Martha looked down at the package in her hand; she carefully unfolded the handkerchief and saw that it was a string of pearls.

"Whoa, it's beautiful." She said.

"It belonged to my mother. Here, let me put it on for you." He took the pearls and clasped it around Martha's slender neck. He smiled. "A perfect fit."

"Wow, Grinch, I… I don't know what to say, except… thank you." Martha said before wrapping her arms around the Grinch in a hug.

He was a bit surprised but he soon smiled and hugged her back, burying his face into her fiery hair and smelling her sweet black cherry scented shampoo. They parted and looked at one another for a few seconds before Martha took a step back. She rubbed her arm and smiled nervously as a blush started forming on her cheeks; the Grinch smirked as his face turned just as red.

"Oh! I, uh, just remembered some uh… _paperwork_ I forgot in my study. It might take a bit, so I'd better see to it right away." He quickly said.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure, you go do that. I'll go wash and put away the dishes form dinner, if you don't mind." Martha said.

"What? You don't have to do that."

"No, I'm your guest. It's the least I can do."

"Well… okay then. And don't worry. You can have my bed for the night."

"Oh, no, no, no. I can make a bed on the floor. I've already imposed on you; I don't want to take your bed from you."

"Don't worry about it, I'll be fine."

"I can move over so you and I can share."

"You're free to have the bed to yourself. You'll benefit more from it than _I_ will tonight."

"Are you sure you're sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Well, um… Thank you, again."

"No problem."

Then after a long moment of awkward silence, the Grinch and Martha walked off in different directions. Grinch sat down at his desk, turned on his lap, and took out a large stack of papers; they were all letters to Martha May from that mysterious man. The Grinch was determined to find out who this man is and what he did to his friend… and protect her if anything bad happens.

In the kitchen, Martha paused for a moment and thought about the Grinch's mother; he must've missed her so much, even if he didn't remember much about her. She can only imagine what it would be like to lose a loved one that you were so close to; she couldn't stand the thought of losing her own family… or even the Grinch himself. He was her closest friend and she would be devastated if anything bad happened to him. She walked over to the table and picked up a few dirty dishes before heading over to the sink. She then felt something brush up against her leg; it was Max.

"Hey, Max." She bent down and scratched his ears. "I can hardly imagine what it would be like to lose someone that close to you. Then again… you can't lose what you've never lost."

Max cocked his head to the side in confusion, wondering what she could mean.

"_Do you ever lie_

_Awake at night?_" She started to sing.

"_Just between the dark_

_And the morning light_

_Searching for the things_

_You used to know_

_Looking for the place_

_Where the lost things go_"

She turned on the water, squirted some liquid soap into the water, and grabbed a sponge; she started to scrub.

"_Do you ever dream_

_Or reminisce?_" She continued.

"_Wondering where to find_

_What you truly miss_

_Well maybe all those things_

_That you love so_

_Are waiting in the place_

_Where the lost things go_

_Memories you've shed_

_Gone for good you feared_

_They're all around you still_

_Though they've disappeared_

_Nothing's really left_

_Or lost without a trace_

_Nothing's gone forever_

_Only out of place_"

She casually turned off the water and started to wipe the dishes and silverware clean before putting them in their correct spots.

"_So maybe now the dish_

_And my best spoon_

_Are playing hide and seek_

_Just behind the moon_

_Waiting there until_

_It's time to show_

_Spring is like that now_

_Far beneath the snow_

_Hiding in the place_

_Where the lost things go_"

Max yawned and headed over to his bed under the sink. Martha smiled and knelt down next to the little brown dog.

"Sweet dreams, Max." She whispered.

She made her way up the stairs to the bedroom before heading to the Grinch's study. She found him lying on his desk, seemingly asleep. She smiled and approached him.

"_Time to close your eyes_

_So sleep can come around_" She quietly sang.

"_For when you dream you'll find_

_All that's lost is found_

_Maybe on the moon_

_Or maybe somewhere new_

_Maybe all you're missing lives inside of you_"

She stopped right next to him; she smiled and gently rubbed his back before tenderly placing a blanket on top of him.

"_So when you need her touch_

_And loving gaze_

_Gone but not forgotten_

_Is the perfect phrase_

_Smiling from a star_

_That she makes glow_

_Trust she's always there_

_Watching as you grow_

_Find her in the place_

_Where the lost things go_"

"Goodnight, Grinchy." She whispered, kneeling down and kissing his forehead.

She then turned off his lamp before quietly making her exit. The Grinch smiled as he turned his head in the other direction; Martha's voice was so beautiful and calming that he drifted back to sleep.


	9. Detective Work

"I don't get it. I just don't get it, Max." Grinch said as he paced the floor of his workshop; his chalkboard was covered in drawings of Martha and that mysterious man from that old photo and a few letters from the mysterious pen pal were even taped up. "I've spent weeks trying to wrap my head this whole thing and I feel like I'm _still_ going _nowhere_ with this. Why would anyone ever want to hurt Martha May? She is the sweetest, kindest, most special girl in all of Seuss! Who would want to scare her like this?" He looked back at Max who was sitting in the middle of the floor. "If Martha claims she doesn't know what's going on, then why were all of those letters and pictures in the trash before she even _opened_ them? And what about those mysterious gifts she keeps receiving and throwing out? Bouquets of roses, heart-shaped boxes of her favorite chocolates, fancy new clothes and shoes, even super expensive jewelry?! Ugh! I just don't understand it!"

He leaned over on his work bench in exasperation. "Something weird is definitely going on."

Max went over to his master and gently nudged his leg; Grinch looked down at his dog before getting an idea.

"I know. Maybe I just need to ask around." He declared. "There's bound to be someone in town who knows what's really going on. Come on, Max. We've got some detective work to do."

Max happily barked and ran over to another corner of the room as the Grinch was about to grab a few things; the little dog quickly returned wearing a deerstalker hat, the kind detectives wear. Grinch smirked as he put on his scarf and grabbed a notebook and a pen.

"Okay, Max. You can wear the hat." He chuckled.

0-0-0-0-0-0

The Grinch and Max went all over Whoville and asked as many people as they could about Martha and the letters and gifts she's been receiving lately. Unfortunately, not a lot of people even knew what was going on. Then he came across Tina.

"Hi, Mr. Grinch. How can I help you?" She asked as the Grinch and Max came into her office.

"Hey, Tina. I know this might sound weird, but I need to ask you a few things… about Martha." Grinch answered, taking a seat.

"Martha? Oh, sure. What's going on?"

"Well… have you noticed the abnormal amount of letters and presents Martha has been getting lately?"

"Wait, _you_ didn't give them to her? I thought _you_ were the one sending her all that stuff."

"No, I wasn't. Have you seen anything suspicious around her house recently?"

"Not much. Well, there was this one time I saw something while I was on my way out to dinner one night."

"Really? Tell me more."

"Okay. As I was going down the sidewalk, I noticed someone go up to Martha's house. I couldn't really tell who it was or what they were doing since it was pretty dark out, but after standing on the doorstep for a second or two, they rang the doorbell and quickly ran off. When the door opened, I saw Martha pick up whatever was on the doorstep and walk inside."

"And did you know what Martha did with that package?"

"No. Do you?"

"I assume she threw it away."

"How do you know that?"

"I saw a fancy dress box in her trash can behind her house; the dress inside was pretty hideous, by the way. I also saw _thousands_ of torn up letters, dozens of multi-colored rose bouquets, and quite a few containers of fancy chocolate candy. Not just _any_ kind of candy, Martha's favorites."

"Why would she throw that stuff out? The dress I get, but the flowers, letters, and chocolate? That just doesn't make any sense."

Grinch sighed. "You might not believe this, Tina, but… I have reasons to believe that Martha might be being stalked."

Tina gasped. "What are you talking about? Why would someone want to stalk Martha?"

"That's what Max and I are trying to figure out." He took a photo of Martha and that same round man together and showed it to Tina; he pointed a finger at the man. "And I think _this_ might be the guy."

"Who is that?"

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out before this whole thing gets any worse." Grinch stood up from his chair. "Thanks for your help, Tina. I really appreciate it."

"No problem."

Before he knew it, the Grinch had varying pieces of information from Tina, Donna, Principal Welltether, and even Bricklebaum, the only other people Martha was closest to. Donna said something about Martha tearing up certain letters as she was passing by, Welltether said he saw Martha take little packages or bunches of flowers from her desk at work and throw them away, and Bricklebaum even said that he saw Martha taking boxes of fancy clothes, shoes, and jewelry boxes full of expensive accessories and throwing them into either her own garbage cans, the nearest dumpster, or the garbage truck. The pieces clicked into place; Martha May _did_ have a stalker and she wanted nothing more to do with him. Then the Grinch decided to confront the only relative Martha had in this town, Mayor Azalea McGerkle. He stepped into Town Hall with Max at his side, determined to find more answers to his numerous questions.

"Hi. I'd like to speak to Mayor McGerkle, please. It's _very_ important." The Grinch said as he and his little canine companion stood at the secretary's desk.

"I'm sorry, but the Mayor is a little busy right now and I—" The secretary answered before her phone rang. "Oh, excuse me." She picked it up. "Hello, Mayor McGerkle's office. What? Really? She is? Oh, alright. Thank you." She hung up and looked back at Grinch. "She just finished up another meeting. Would you like me to let her know you're here?"

"Yes. Thank you, Miss Lavender."

"You're welcome, Mr. Grinch. And just wait here, I'll be back soon."

Miss Lavender then stood up from her desk and went off in a different direction, leaving the Grinch and Max by themselves. As he waited, the Grinch noticed the assistant mayor enter and he was on the phone. Grinch would've paid no mind if it wasn't for the conversation the short round man was having with the person on the other line.

"Yes. I made sure she got them, but she keeps throwing them away. I have a feeling Martha May has a pretty good idea of what's going on." He said into the phone before going into his office.

Grinch scratched his chin in thought. 'What are you hiding, Chester Von Chump?'

Being as discreet as possible, the Grinch snuck over to Von Chump's office and stopped right next to the door. Luckily, it was opened a tiny crack and he could clearly hear what Von Chump was saying. And just his luck, the phone was now on speaker.

"Hey, I can't just make her accept those gifts you keep on buying her." He argued on the phone. "You can't buy a woman's affection. Why can't you just accept that she doesn't want anything to do with you anymore?"

"_Of course she does, you idiot! She's just confused; she doesn't know what she really wants._" An unfamiliar voice on the phone said.

"She sounds like she knows what she wants to me."

"_Martha May was always a ditzy little bird; she never knows what's best for her. But _I_ do, I've _always_ known. My little flower is sure to come back to me once this is all over; she will be _mine_ again and love only _me_, her one TRUE love._"

'Little flower?' Grinch thought, raising an eyebrow.

"But, from what _I_ heard… Martha wasn't very happy with you. Why do you think she came out here in the first place?"

"_Who cares about _her_ happiness? She just needs to be put in her proper place, that's all. _All_ women need to know their place in society. I also need to ensure that she never leaves me again. We just need to keep this up until Valentine's Day._"

'Valentine's Day? But that's in a week.'

"Wait. Before we do anything else, why don't we, uh… just call this whole thing off?"

"…_Why?_"

"Well, because… because it's clear that we're really freaking her out and I just don't want to scare her anymore."

"_Are you contradicting me, CHESTER?_"

"Well… what if I am? What if I don't want to be a part of this anymore?"

"_What are you trying to say?_"

"Are you hard of hearing or something? I don't want to be your little messenger boy anymore, Augustus May-Who!"

Everything went silent.

'Augustus May-Who?' The Grinch put two and two together.

"…_You WILL regret this decision, Chester Von Chump._" The voice on the phone said ominously before hanging up.

"Oh boy…" Von Chump said.

The Grinch furrowed his brow, stood straight, and pushed the office door wide open. Von Chump quickly sat up straight at his desk and put his phone into his coat pocket.

"Oh! Uh, hi, Mr. Grinch. How… can I help you?" He nervously asked with a forced smile.

"Care to explain something to me, Von Chump?" Grinch questioned as he slowly stepped into the assistant mayor's office.

"Uh, sure thing. What's on your mind?" Von Chump's nervous grin was even bigger now.

"…Who is Augustus May-Who? And how does he know Martha May?"

Von Chump froze; he was sniffed out. He stood up from his desk and tried to run away as fast as he possibly could, but the Grinch slammed the door shut and held him down on his desk before he could do anything else. The Grinch glared at the terrified Who, his green eyes burning with anger and determination.

"_You're_ the one who's been stalking Martha May?" He scowled.

"No." Von Chump tried to argue.

"Then who is?"

"Uh… no one?"

"Talk."

"No."

"Fine. Then we're gonna have to go old school."

"Old school?"

The Grinch then licked his right index finger and with a wicked smile, stuck it right into Von Chump's left ear. Von Chump cried out in fear and disgust, obviously grossed out by the wet, hairy feeling inside of his ear.

"Agh! Please! Make it stop, make it stop!" He screamed as he struggled to get free.

"Not until you tell me what you know!" Grinch demanded.

"Mr. Von Chump? How is…?" Mayor McGerkle said as she opened the door to his office, only to see the awkward exchange.

The Grinch and Von Chump looked at the Mayor in shock, unsure of what to say or do next.

"…Is this a bad time?" Miss Lavender asked, standing behind the Mayor.

Grinch removed his finger from Von Chump's ear and stood straight to face Mayor McGerckle.

"Madame Mayor, I have reasons to believe that your niece, Martha May Whovier, is being stalked by a creep named Augustus May-Who… And it seems that Assistant Mayor Von Chump is helping him." He said, glaring back at Von Chump.

"Chester?" The Mayor asked in disbelief.

Von Chump sighed in defeat and stood up, wiping his ear with a handkerchief. "Yes, Madame Mayor. He's right, I was helping Mr. May-Who. But I just told him that I didn't want to help him anymore."

The Grinch raised a finger to stop him. "…I think it'd be best if you explain not only to me, but to my accomplices as well."

"Accomplices?"

"What do you mean?" The Mayor asked.

Grinch turned his head to look back at the Mayor. "The ones I've been interviewing all day. Call Bricklebaum, Tina Clarnell, Donna Who, Sven Welltether, and five students from Whoville Elementary: Cindy-Lou Who, Groopert, Izzy, Axl, and Ozzy. They _need_ to hear this."

"Should we call Martha, too?" McGerckle asked.

"No, not Martha. At least not yet. We're not putting any more pressure on her, okay?"

"…Okay, I'll make some calls." Miss Lavender said, quickly making her way back to her desk.

"Yeah, you do that."

0-0-0-0-0-0

By the time three o'clock rolled around, Mayor McGerkle, Tina, Donna, Bricklebaum, Welltether, and Cindy-Lou and her friends were already sitting in a conference room with the Grinch and Von Chump standing at the front.

"I suppose you're all wondering why you're here. And I understand that." He said. "But there's something all of you should know. I've done some digging around and I have discovered… Martha May has a stalker."

Everyone looked at each other in shock, especially the kids.

"But who would want to stalk Miss May?" Izzy asked.

"That's why Assistant Mayor Von Chump is here. He'll explain everything. In your own time." Grinch said with a nod.

Von Chump sighed again and he began. "The guy's name is Augustus May-Who. He and Martha used to be a couple back in Who York, but she left him back in January."

"And how long have they been together before she left?"

"Since she was a freshman in college. But the thing is… he hurt her, a lot."

Everybody else gasped in shock.

"So _that's_ why she won't talk about her time in Who York?" Welltether asked.

"Yep." Von Chump let out another sigh.

"Why would he do that to her?" Donna asked.

"That, I don't know. I swear. All May-Who told me was that he would hurt Martha just to 'put her in her proper place', as he said it. But I think it was just because he liked to see other people in pain, especially women. It's morbid, I know, but it's true. He even forced her to get that assistant job at Who Runway and he told her that if she quit, he'd turn her life into a living nightmare… if he hadn't done that already. I don't know why he wants her back so bad, but I _do_ know this. He'll do _anything_ to have control of her life again; all he wants is to have Martha May all to himself. He also said that if she gains too much control, then everything he worked for will be ruined and she won't belong to him anymore."

"What's May-Who planning on doing now?" Tina asked.

"Well… now he wants to throw a party on Valentine's Day, here in Whoville."

"May-Who is coming _here_?!" Bricklebaum exclaimed.

"Yes. He said that this Valentine's Day party will be just the thing to get his little bird to fly back to the nest. And he wants to invite everyone… except all of the kids."

"What?!" Cindy-Lou and her friends cried.

"We can't come?! That's not fair!" Axl exclaimed.

"But that's not even the _worst_ part." Von Chump continued.

"Then… what is?" Groopert asked.

Von Chump turned his head to face the Grinch. "…He knows about you, Grinch. He's seen how happy you make Martha May and… and I think he's _jealous_."

"Jealous of ME?"

"Yes. And I know that he'd do _anything_ to get rid of you… even if it meant _killing_ you."

"We can't let him do that!" Cindy yelled.

"Yeah!" Her friends added.

"But what are we going to do?" Tina asked.

"Don't worry, everybody. I already have a plan, but I'm gonna need all of you." Grinch said. "I know it's going to be a lot of hard work, but I also know that we can beat May-Who and save Martha if we work together. So… what do you say? Will you help me?"

Everyone in the conference room looked at each other in silence for a minute or two before looking back at the Grinch.

"I'm in." Cindy-Lou said, raising her hand.

"I'm in, too." Donna added.

"I wanna help, too." Tina chimed in.

"So do we." Cindy's friends said.

"Us, too." Bricklebaum and Welltether added.

"And me." Mayor McGerkle said.

"…Uh, can _I_ help, too?" Von Chump asked nervously; everyone gave him a confused look. "Look, I know I worked for May-Who, but I told you I want nothing to do with him anymore and I want to make things right. So am I in?"

Grinch paused and smirked before placing a hand on the assistant mayor's shoulder. "Of course you are." He turned back to face his friends. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do…"

The group leaned in close as the Grinch told them his plan.


	10. The Valentine's Day Party

The week went by rather slowly, especially for the kids. They were eager to put the Grinch's plan to save Martha into motion. During that time, every adult in Whoville, including the Grinch, were given invitations to a party on Valentine's Day; it was to be held in the Snowy Hill Hotel, the fanciest hotel in all of Whoville, and everyone was required to wear red attire. Everyone was excited, but nobody knew who the mysterious host of this party was. But the Grinch and his team knew; they had to be ready.

Soon, the night of the party came. Every grownup was getting ready, especially the Grinch. At first, he didn't want to go, but he knew he had to… for Martha's safety. He rummaged through his closet, looking for something to wear. He had his scarf and necktie which both had red in them, but they both had more white anyway. He searched and searched until he finally found it; his Santa Claus outfit. It was all red, so he thought 'why not?'

He put on the suit, the hat, and even the black boots that went with the whole outfit, but he didn't bother to put on the beard; he thought that might be pushing it a little. He looked in the mirror and smiled as he adjusted his collar.

"I sure hope this plan works." He said before grabbing something small from his dresser; it was a small earpiece so that he could stay connected with Cindy-Lou, her friends and the rest of his team. "This is for Martha. I'm doing this for Martha. I am doing this for Martha."

He turned on the earpiece, put it into his right ear, adjusted his hat so it would be hidden from view, and headed out the door, only to see Max and his reindeer friend, Fred, waiting for him. Fred was hitched up to the sleigh the Grinch had stolen and fiddled with back in December and Max was sitting in his little sidecar, waiting for his master. Grinch smirked.

"Oh, you guys. You shouldn't have." He chuckled before climbing into the sleigh.

He checked the wrist watch Martha gave him and nearly gasped; the party was about to start soon. He took hold of the reins, whipped them, and the sleigh sped off down the mountain towards Whoville. By the time the Grinch made his way into town, he was surprised; the Snowy Hill Hotel was decorated just for the occasion with heart-shaped balloons in different shades of pink, white, and red strung about. He parked the sleigh and climbed out. Max tried to follow him, but the Grinch quickly stopped him.

"Sorry, boy, but this hotel doesn't allow animals. You and Fred will have to stay out here until further notice." He said with a sad shrug.

The Grinch then headed towards the hotel entrance, only to be stopped by two beefy guards in matching uniforms. He froze.

'Uh oh, this could be bad.' He thought, grinning nervously.

"Do you have an invite, Santy Claus?" One guard asked.

"Yeah, _do_ you?" The other guard asked.

The Grinch took out his invitation and nervously showed it to the two men. They looked at each other before letting him pass through.

"Thank you, uh… Chip and Skip?" Grinch said, quickly walking into the hotel.

"Is that him?" Chip whispered to his friend.

"Yep, that's him." Skip whispered back.

The Grinch wasn't sure where he was supposed to go, so he made his way to the front desk to ask the concierge.

"Hi. Which way do I go to get to the Valentine's Day party?" He asked, adjusting his left sleeve.

The concierge, Mr. Quaid Quimney, curiously looked at the Grinch from top to bottom before saying, "Just go down that hall until you reach the ballroom, which is the first door to your left."

"Oh, okay. Thanks." Grinch said.

"Looking a little too _Christmassy_ for a _Valentine's Day_ party aren't we, Mister Grinch?" Quimney sarcastically asked.

Grinch merely rolled his eyes in annoyance and said nothing before heading down the hall towards the ballroom. Quimney turned to the security guards at the door and gave them a nod with a furrowed brow; they nodded back. The Grinch walked down the hall until he found the first door to his left; it was the door leading to the ballroom. He stepped in and blinked a few times; the entire room was decorated for Valentine's Day, complete with red and pink heart-shaped balloons, pink, white, and red streamers, and beautiful, expensive vases containing bouquets of fresh red, white, and pink roses. He looked around some more and he saw that a few guests had arrived before him and, like him, they were all dressed in red.

'Wow… It's gonna be pretty tough to find people in _this_ crowd.' He thought as he walked around, hoping to find Martha May.

The Grinch thought that it wouldn't be that hard to find her red hair in a crowd like this… hopefully. He walked until he saw two heads of blonde hair a few feet away. He walked over to them and was surprised to see Donna and Tina talking with Bricklebaum; Tina and Donna were both wearing lovely dresses in different shades of red with their hair styled while Bricklebaum wore his best red sweater and clip-on bowtie.

"Oh, hi, Mr. Grinch." Tina greeted. "Nice Santa suit."

"Uh, thanks." Grinch said. "I couldn't find anything else that was completely red."

"Well, it's very nice." Donna commented.

"Thanks. Hey, have any of you see Martha around lately? I was hoping to see her tonight."

"No, I don't think so." Tina answered.

"I haven't seen her." Donna added.

"Sorry." Bricklebaum chimed in.

"I'm afraid _we_ haven't seen her either." A new voice said.

The Grinch turned around to see Principal Welltether standing with Mayor McGerkle and Assistant Mayor Von Chump right beside him. Welltether was wearing a mahogany red jacket and matching pants with a white shirt underneath and a black neck tie, the Mayor wore a deep red dress with little white spots scattered about, and Von Chump wore an apple red sweater vest with a white dress shirt and reddish brown slacks.

"Good to see you guys." Grinch said.

"Good to see you too, Mr. Grinch." The Mayor said with a somewhat forced smile.

"Hey, this might not be the best time, but I spotted a few suspicious characters at the entrance of the hotel." Von Chump whispered into the Grinch's ear.

"Those two guards and the concierge?" Grinch asked.

"Yep." Von Chump answered.

"You think they might be working for May-Who?" Tina whispered.

"They probably are." Grinch said with a nod. "But we can't focus on them right now; that's the kids' job. Does everyone have a radio?"

They all nodded as they turned their devices on.

"Good. And if anything goes wrong, just signal each other; you'll know what to do. All we need to do now is act like we're having a good time, so we'd better…" Grinch started before the room suddenly went quiet. "What? What's everyone staring a…?"

Everyone turned their heads in the direction of the ballroom entrance; Grinch did the same and saw Martha May enter… only she wasn't wearing red at all. She was wearing a floor-length dress in various shades of green with matching green ribbons tied in her brushed and styled hair, fingerless lace gloves on her hands, and the pearl necklace Grinch gave her around her slender neck. She even wore some makeup that seemed to make her face slightly glow. The Grinch's eyes widened when he saw her; she was absolutely gorgeous. His heart was beating a mile a minute and his face suddenly felt hot as he continued to stare, but he didn't seem to care or notice.

"Is that… Martha?" Donna asked in disbelief.

"She's beautiful." The Mayor beamed.

"So beautiful…" The Grinch said as if he were in a trance.

Tina gently nudged him in the ribs with her elbow and said, "I'm pretty sure we can see your _blush_ under all that fur."

Grinch froze and covered up his cheeks, nose, and mouth in embarrassment before he saw that Martha was walking towards him.

'Oh shoot, she's coming over! What should I say? What should I do? What am I going to—' He screamed in his head.

"Grinch?" Martha voice asked.

The Grinch looked to see Martha standing right in front of him. When she smiled at him, her blue eyes seemed to sparkle.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

Grinch opened his mouth to speak, only nothing came out. He was at a loss for words.

"We'll leave you two alone." Bricklebaum said before he and the others walked off in different directions.

'Wait, what are you guys doing? Don't leave me alone!' Grinch thought, trying to keep his composure.

"Uh, is it too much?" Martha looked down at her dress.

"What? No, no, no, no!" Grinch said before calming down. "You look… amazing."

"Thank you."

"And I see you're wearing the pearls I gave you."

"Yeah. I think they complete my look."

"They really do. But I thought everyone who was invited to this party was supposed to wear _red_."

"Oh, I don't follow silly dress codes anymore. Red may be my favorite color but I wanted to try something different. When it comes to fashion, I decide to live by my own rules. Plus, I just really wanted to show off this dress. I designed it myself."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I made it so the skirt is adjustable. Watch this."

Martha untied the little red bow at her waist and pulled on the ribbon; the Grinch watched in awe as the length of the skirt changed. Martha let go of the ribbon and the skirt went back to its original length.

"Wow, that's… really impressive." Grinch said.

"Thanks. When you work at a fashion magazine for almost two decades, you're bound to pick up a few things here and there." Martha said as she tied the bow around her waist back up.

"Well, that's great. And to be honest… green is a great color on you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it… brings out your eyes."

Martha blushed and smiled nervously before noticing the Grinch's outfit.

"You dressed up as Santa Claus?" She asked.

"What? It was the only solid red thing I could find in my closet." Grinch said with a shrug.

"There's nothing wrong with that. I like it."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Did you make it yourself?"

"Sure did."

"Well, you look good… especially in red. Plus, I _love_ those boots of yours."

"These? Oh, thanks." Grinch said as he looked down at his feet; he then noticed the shoes Martha was wearing. They were ruby red with little bow accents on the toes and a small heel. "I see you have one tiny splash of red on you."

"Oh yeah." Martha looked down at her feet and showed off her shoes. "These are my favorite dress shoes; I only wear them for special occasions."

"They're nice, _really_ nice."

"Thanks."

"Check, check, check! Is this thing on?" A third unfamiliar voice said over the intercom. "Good evening, ladies and gentlewhos. I am your host for tonight and I just wanted to say thank you all for coming to this little party."

Everyone politely clapped their hands.

"I'm so glad you all could come tonight. Now if you all would direct your attention to the stage, I would like to welcome some very special guests. Allow me to present, our _celebrity_ guests… the SeussTube Six!"

"The SeussTube Six are here?" The Grinch asked in disbelief as everyone around him applauded and turned to look at the stage on the opposite side of the room.

It was then that a group of six Whos made their way onto the stage; there were four girls and two boys in total and they all looked to be in their twenties. One girl had black and red hair and was wearing glasses, another girl had purple eyes and purple streaks through her dirty blonde hair, a third girl had short brown hair and was wearing a blue hat, the fourth girl had pink streaks and blue tips in her blonde hair and a pink top, one boy was tall and lanky and had dark brown hair with green accents, and the second boy had tan sin and dark red hair. They were a strange looking bunch that was for sure. The girl with the glasses picked up a microphone and brought it to her lips.

"Hello, Whoville! Are you guys ready to have some fun on this day of love?" She asked with a big smile.

Everyone smiled and gave a cheer.

"That's good. I'm Ursa, this is Saffron, Ping-Pong, Grover, Darby, and this purple-eyed beauty is Maggie." Ursa said before handing the microphone over to her girlfriend.

"Thanks, Ursie." Maggie said before giving Ursa a peck on the cheek. She turned to the crowd. "As some of you may or may not know, Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday so being able to perform with the people I love _on_ Valentine's Day is more than I could've dreamed. Right, Darby?" She passed the microphone to the girl dressed in orange.

"Absolutely, Mag." She said. "So, without further ado, what do you say we finally get this party started?"

Everyone cheered and applauded as music started to play; soon after, Maggie and Ursa smiled and nodded at each other before they started to sing.

"_We were strangers_

_Starting out on a journey_" Maggie started.

"_Never dreaming what we'd have to go through_

_Now here we are_

_And I'm suddenly standing_

_At the beginning with you_"

"_No one told me, that I was going to find you_

_Unexpected, what you did to my heart_" Ursa continued.

"_When I lost hope_

_You were there to remind me_

_This is the start_"

Martha's face lit up as she listened to the two girls sing; she immediately recognized the song.

"Oh, I love this song!" She exclaimed before turning to the Grinch. "You wanna dance?"

"Dance? With _you_? Oh, uh… sure, I'd love to." Grinch said with an anxious smirk before Martha took his hand and led him out onto the dance floor.

As the music played, Martha and the Grinch danced and moved along with the groove. Grinch had never danced before, but that didn't seem to stop him from having a good time with his dear friend; they even started to playfully sing along with Ursa and Maggie. Tina and Donna soon joined them.

"Martha, you look great!" Tina commented.

"Gorgeous." Donna added.

"Thanks, girls." Martha said with a smile.

"You know, Martha actually made her dress." The Grinch pointed out.

"No way!" Donna and Tina exclaimed.

"Yes way." Martha said, giving a twirl.

"So are you two having a good time?" Tina asked.

"We sure are." Martha said with a grin.

Grinch said nothing, but winked his eye at Donna and Tina; they winked back, but Martha didn't seem to notice.

"_Life is a road and I wanna keep going_

_Love is a river I want to keep going on_

_Starting out on a journey_" Maggie and Ursa sang.

"_Life is a road I wanna keep going_

_Love is a river I want to keep flowing_

_In the end I want to be standing at the beginning_

_With you_"

The song came to an end and everyone clapped their hands.

"Thank you, everyone. Now I think it's about time for a little slow dance." The blonde girl, Saffron, said as she took the microphone; she turned to the tall boy in green. "So, will _you_ do the honors, Ping-Pong?"

"I would love to." Ping-Pong answered, taking the microphone from Saffron. "This song is dedicated to all of you lovers out there, so be sure to grab that special someone and hold them close."

The lights dimmed, a slow, romantic song started to play and Ping-Pong began to sing.

"_You're in my arms_

_And all the world is calm_" He started.

"_The music playing on for only two_

_So close together_

_And when I'm with you_

_So close to feeling alive_"

Martha smiled, took the Grinch's hand, and led him to the middle of the dance floor. She put her hand on his shoulder, he put his hand on her hip, and they both held their free hands before they started to waltz. By now, Donna and Tina had already left to find their own dance partners, but they couldn't help but watch Martha and the Grinch dance; Welltether, the Mayor, Von Chump, and Bricklebaum watched, too.

"_So close to reaching_

_That famous happy end_" Ping-Pong continued.

"_Almost believing_

_This one's not pretend_

_And now you're beside me_

_And look how far we've come_

_So far we are, so close_"

As the song progressed, Grinch and Martha got more and more into their dance, twirling around and gliding across the ballroom floor without a care in the world. Everyone else in the ballroom made a circle around the couple to give them room, but neither Martha nor the Grinch seemed to notice or care.

"_We're so close to reaching_

_That famous happy end_" Ping-Pong sang.

"_Almost believing_

_This one's not pretend_

_Let's go on dreaming_

_For we know we are_

_So close, so close_

_And still so far_"

As the song came to a slow and steady stop, Martha leaned in and gave the Grinch a peck on the cheek. The Grinch was taken aback, but then he surprised Martha by giving her a peck on the forehead. They smiled and blushed at each other. The crowd applauded.

"Well, well, well, look at this." A new voice said.

Martha turned around and she saw Johanna Starling, Heather Whomont, Franklin, and the new assistant Frieda standing there. Her eyes widened in shock and she almost gasped.


	11. Drama

Martha stared at her former boss and co-workers with wide eyes. Johanna had dyed her hair from a platinum blonde to a chocolate brown and she was wearing a deep red pant suit with a white blouse underneath, Heather had cut her long blonde hair up to her chin and she wore a red cocktail dress with one strap over the right shoulder, and Franklin wore a red suit that looked like it had a little too much sheen. Johanna got a good look at Martha before she smiled and wrapped her arms around her in a hug.

"Oh Martha May, it's so good to see you!" She exclaimed.

Heather quickly joined the hug. "It's been too long!"

"It, uh, it's… good to see you guys too, but it's only been a couple of months." Martha said before the three of them parted.

"We know how long it's been since you left us, but we're all just really happy to see you again, dear." Franklin said with a smile.

"Thanks. No offense, but what exactly are you doing here? In Whoville?" Martha asked.

"We were invited." Johanna answered.

"All of you?"

"Yep. We'd never miss a social function we were invited to, even if it was in another town." Franklin then turned his attention to the Grinch who was giving him a nervous smile. "Um, Martha? Aren't you going to introduce us… to your friend?"

"Hm? Oh, right. Johanna, Franklin, Heather, Frieda, I'd like you all to meet my _best_ friend, the Grinch." Martha smiled and placed a hand on the Grinch's back to calm him down.

"Uh… pleased to meet you." Grinch quickly said, anxiously offering his hand and grinning.

Johanna paused for a moment before shaking the Grinch's hand and smirking. "Pleased to meet you too, darling."

"Hello." Frieda said.

"Charmed." Franklin added.

"Yeah, hi." Heather chimed in. "One question… Why are you dressed like Santa Claus?"

"Uh…"

"Cool it, Heather. It was the only red thing he could get his hands on." Martha intervened.

"Speaking of clothing… really, Martha? Wearing _green_ to a party where everyone is wearing _red_?" Frieda scoffed.

"Frieda, don't be rude. It's her choice." Johanna mildly scolded.

"Exactly. And just to let you all know, Martha actually designed this dress herself." Grinch pointed out.

"She did?" Heather asked.

"Yeah, but it's not that good." Martha said, trying to sound humble.

"Are you kidding? It's _beautiful_." A new voice said.

Martha and the Grinch turned to see Tina and Donna approach; they both had nervous smiles on their faces.

"Hi, I'm Tina and this is Donna. We're friends of Martha." Tina said.

"We both read your magazine." Donna said.

"I'm sure you do." Johanna said. "It's nice to meet you ladies."

"It's nice to meet you too, Miss Starling." Tina said as she and Johanna shook hands.

"Please, call me Johanna."

"Okay… Johanna."

"What do you say we leave them alone to get acquainted?" Martha whispered to Grinch.

"Good idea." Grinch whispered back before they walked away.

"Wow. I didn't know Johanna would be invited to this party." Martha commented.

"And I didn't know the SeussTube Six was going to be performing. The host must've _really_ gone all out for this." Grinch added.

"I'll say."

"Martha?" Two voices asked.

Martha quickly turned, only to see her mother, her father, and her two sisters standing in front of her with wide eyes. They were all dressed for the party as well, all in red; June and Joy had both grown up from two adorable little girls to two lovely young women. Martha's eyes widened; what was her family doing here? The Grinch took a step closer to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Dad? Mom? Joy, June? What… what are you doing here?" Martha asked in disbelief.

"We were coming to visit you." Her mother, Felicity, answered.

"And we had an invite to the party." Her father, Mortimer, added before noticing the Grinch; he winced in fear. "Martha, sweetie? …Who is _that_?"

"Is this… the MONSTER of Mt. Crumpit you mentioned? All those years ago?" Felicity asked nervously.

"_Monster_?" June and Joy asked in unison, looking at each other then back at their sister.

"Guys, it's okay. He's not going to hurt you. And he's _not_ a monster; he's my friend… my _best_ friend." Martha said, placing her arm in front of the Grinch and giving her family a stern look. "Everyone, this… is the Grinch. Grinch, this is my father Mortimer, my mother Felicity, and my two younger sisters, June and Joy. They're twins."

"It's, uh… it's very nice to finally meet you all." Grinch offered his hand.

Mortimer stared at the Grinch for a moment or two before glancing back at his eldest daughter. "Martha, I think you owe us an explanation."

Martha looked away for a moment before she heard more footsteps approach.

'Who is it this time?' She thought.

"Martha?" A male voice asked.

A young man with sea foam green eyes, brown hair, freckles, and a friendly smile was standing in front of her. He was wearing a red tuxedo with a black shirt and a white necktie. Martha recognized him almost instantly.

"_Bert_? Is that you?" She asked.

"Yeah, yeah it's me." Bert said with a smile. "Wow, it's… really good to see you. You're looking good."

"Thanks. You, too. Man, you've gotten tall." Martha smiled.

"Yeah, you know."

"Wait, what?" June chimed in.

"Okay, who's this guy?" Joy asked.

"Yeah, how do you know each other?" Grinch asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Grinch, don't you remember Bert?" Martha asked. "He was the one who was supposed to be in the Christmas pageant all those years ago, as my cavalier."

"Oh! Him! Right, right. Uh… sorry for stealing your part. No hard feelings?" Grinch said.

Bert chuckled and shook the Grinch's hand. "Of course not, Mr. Grinch; I'm not a guy who holds grudges. Besides, I saw the whole thing from backstage. You two were _amazing_ together."

"Wait a minute… YOU were the cavalier in the pageant?" Felicity questioned the Grinch.

"_You_ skated with my daughter that night?" Mortimer added, furrowing his brow.

"Uh, um…" Grinch said before he heard something in his ear; it was his earpiece.

"Hey, Mr. Grinch. Mr. Grinch, it's me, Cindy-Lou Who. Can you hear me?" Cindy-Lou's voice asked.

"Uh, what? Oh, sorry. I… need some fresh air. Why don't you guys stay here and catch up? I'll just be a minute." Grinch quickly said before race walking towards the glass doors leading to the patio outside.

"What was that all about?" Felicity asked.

"…He has social anxiety." Martha answered.

When the Grinch made it outside, he brought his voice to a whisper and said, "Detention Squad in place?"

"Roger." Izzy said.

"Yep." Ozzy said.

"Check." Axl said.

"Check." Groopert said.

"And double check." Cindy-Lou finished.

"Okay. And do you kids remember the plan?" Grinch asked.

"Yep." All five kids answered.

"Good. And one more thing; once all of the traps you set up had been sprung by May-Who or anyone who's working for him, meet me in the ballroom as soon as possible. Good luck."

"Roger that, Mr. Grinch." The kids said before going quiet.

"Excuse me?" A new voice said.

The Grinch yelped and nearly jumped in surprise; he turned to see Mrs. Sturnentine standing in the doorway. She was wearing a black female waiter's uniform and she was carrying a silver tray with drinks on it.

"Mrs. Sturnentine? You're _working_ the party?" He asked.

"Yes. What of it?" Mrs. Sturnentine said, walking up to the Grinch.

"Oh, nothing. I just thought that—"

"You thought what? That I was invited?"

"Well… yes."

"Well, you thought wrong. I need the money and I don't have my teaching job anymore, thanks to your little girlfriend over there."

"_Girlfriend_? You mean _Martha_?" Grinch looked through the glass to see Martha talking with Bert and her family; his cheeks felt warm as he saw her smile.

"Who else? She's been spending the most time with _you_ of all people."

"What? No, no, no, no, no! She's not my girlfriend! Martha and I are just…" The Grinch paused and furrowed his brow at the old Who. "Wait, what do you mean by 'me of all people'?"

"Isn't it obvious? Look at you; you're not exactly the _average_ Who." Mrs. Sturnentine set her tray of drinks down.

"So what if I'm not like everyone else in town? Martha likes me for who I am, even if I'm a little strange. I knew her when she was a little girl."

"And she wasn't afraid of you?"

"Well… she was at first, but then we started to meet up more and… we started to become friends."

"Until the day after Christmas that year, the day she left. And you never saw her again until many years later, isn't that right?"

Grinch's face fell. "How did you know that?"

"I'm not a senile old woman, Mister Grinch. I know much more than you think."

"Well… so what? Martha is my friend and I care about her. And she cares about me, too."

"And you _believe_ her?"

"Of course I do. You hardly even know anything about Martha."

"But aren't there things about her you couldn't possibly know?"

Grinch paused again; he remembered how Martha wanted to keep her old relationship with May-Who a secret, not just from him but from everyone else. She was just scared of what people would think; he knew that. But then he saw the smug smirk on Mrs. Sturnentine's face; he realized what she was trying to do. She was pointing out his flaws and insecurities, basically verbally abusing him and trying to get into his head and make him doubt everything he knew… just like she did to him while he was living in the orphanage as a child. He stood straight and narrowed his green eyes at her.

"…I know what you're trying to do, _Sandra_." He said, furrowing his brow.

"Oh? And what is that?" Mrs. Sturnentine said, trying to sound innocent.

"You're trying to make me doubt everything so I would stop seeing Martha. I don't know what you have against her or me, but it's not going to work. I may have fallen for your tricks when I was younger, but not anymore. I'm not going to fall for your mind games any longer."

Mrs. Sturnentine narrowed her eyes and picked up her tray before taking a champagne glass and offering it to the Grinch.

"Fine. But have a drink, just to soothe your frayed nerves." She said, remaining calm. "And one more thing before I go, Mr. Grinch. Martha May might find you charming now, but it's only because you're different. You're a novelty, at best."

The Grinch frowned at her. "…What makes you so sure?"

"That's simple. She may seem like you, but I know she doesn't respect you. Your mother didn't love you, and neither will Martha; not in a million _zillion_ years. Face it, she only befriended you just so she wouldn't have to deal with all of the mistakes she made in the past."

Someone cleared their throat. The Grinch and Mrs. Sturnentine turned their heads to see Martha May standing in the doorway with a stern look on her face; Mrs. Sturnentine and the Grinch's eyes widened in shock when they saw her.

"Uh… how much of that did you hear?" The old woman asked with a nervous smile.

"Oh, I heard _all_ of it." Martha said walked over to them.

"Um… care for a drink?" Mrs. Sturnentine offered a glass to Martha; she reluctantly took it.

"I think it's best if you leave us alone."

Mrs. Sturnentine frowned at her and said nothing before walking back into the ballroom to hand out more drinks, leaving Martha and the Grinch by themselves. They set their glasses down and leaned on the railing, looking up at the night sky.

"…What did she really say to you?" She asked.

"Stuff about me being different and you not really respecting me." Grinch replied, looking away from her. "She also told me about you being friends with me just so you wouldn't have to deal with all your mistakes, but… is that all I'm here for?"

Martha's face fell and she put a hand on his shoulder. "Grinch, you know that isn't true. In the tape I left you, I told how much I cared about you and valued our friendship and how much I'd miss you when I left. Do you think what I said to you in the tape was a lie?"

Grinch paused and looked back at her. "No, I… I'm sure you meant it." They wrapped their arms around each other in a hug; he buried his face in her hair. "Look, I get it. I know you didn't want me to deal with your problems."

"And you don't have to."

"But I want to help you get over them, in any way I can."

They parted.

"You really mean that?"

"Of course. But for now, let's just enjoy this party. How about a toast?" They picked up their drinks and raised them up. "To kindness."

"To love." Martha said.

"To the things we need most." They said in unison, gently tapping their glasses together.

Martha took a small sip from her glass while Grinch gulped down every drop. Then the Grinch paused, furrowed his brow in confusion, and licked his lips.

"Hmm, that's a peculiar taste." He said.

"Really?" Martha took another sip from her glass. "Tastes fine to me."

"I don't know, mine was a different color and it just seems like…" Grinch started before he started to cough.

"Grinch? Are you okay?" Martha asked worriedly.

"I-I'm fine, just something in my throat." Grinch said in between coughs, which seemed to grow stronger and nastier.

By now, the Grinch felt something block his windpipe and he was unable to properly breathe. His eyes widened as the realization of the situation dawned on him in horror; he thrashed around before he suddenly felt so weak that he could barely stand. Before anything else could be done, the Grinch fell to the ground unconscious, his glass shattering on contact with the snow-covered floor. Martha screamed in terror.


	12. Confessions

Everyone in the ballroom froze when they heard Martha scream; the music stopped and everyone instantly stopped what they were doing. In a panic, Bricklebaum, Tina, Donna, and Welltether made their way to the patio to see what was wrong, only to see the Grinch lying in the snow unconscious and Martha kneeling over him with tears in her eyes; she was desperately trying to wake him up, but to no avail.

"Grinch? Grinchy! What's happened to you?! What's wrong?! Wake up! _Please_ wake up!" She wept as she started shaking him.

"Martha? What happened?" Donna asked.

"I don't know! Grinch won't wake up!" Martha answered.

"We'd better get him inside." Welltether said as he and Bricklebaum lifted the Grinch off of the ground and brought him back into the ballroom.

"Someone help us, please!" Tina cried out.

Two men that were working the party came over and set a soft couch on the floor; the Grinch was gently laid there. Martha knelt in front of him again, stroking his face and crying.

"Please be okay, Grinch…" She whispered.

"Martha? What's happening?" Johanna asked as she and her associates pushed their way to the front.

"What's going on? What's wrong?" Felicity asked as she, Mortimer, June, and Joy made their way to the front as well.

"Why are you crying?" Heather asked, putting her hands on her hips.

Before Martha could get a word out, the ballroom doors burst open and Cindy-Lou Who, her friends, and even Max the dog all ran into the room, breathing heavily and looking exhausted. The other adults jumped back in surprise, completely oblivious to what was happening.

"Mr. Grinch! We got him! He and his goons set them all off!" Cindy-Lou exclaimed before looking around for the Grinch; then she saw Martha's red hair in another corner of the room.

Max, Cindy, and her friends ran over to their teacher to see what was happening.

"Miss May! Miss May, are you okay?" Cindy asked.

"Cindy-Lou? Kids? What are you doing here?" Martha asked with wide eyes.

But before Cindy-Lou could say anything, she saw the Grinch lying on the sofa. She and her friends gasped in shock. "Mr. Grinch?!"

"What happened?" Groopert asked.

"Is everything okay?" Axl chimed in.

"What's wrong with Mr. Grinch?" Izzy questioned.

"Why is he taking a nap?" Ozzy commented.

"I don't think he's napping, kids. Something's wrong." Donna said, kneeling next to Martha; she looked at her friend. "Martha, you need to tell us what happened."

"Well he and I were just talking, then we had a drink." Martha explained, wiping her eyes. "Then he started violently coughing, like he was choking. And then he just passed out and now I can't get him to wake up."

"I think I might know, but I just want to be sure." Donna said. "What color was his drink?"

"Uh, green I think."

And just like a real doctor, Donna checked the Grinch's pulse, his heartbeat, and his breathing and she realized that they were all slowly growing faint. Her eyes widened as she turned to Martha.

"Um, Martha? I don't think you're going to like this." She said.

"What? What's the matter? What's wrong with the Grinch?" Martha demanded.

"He, uh, he… he was _poisoned_." Donna reluctantly answered.

Everyone gasped and Martha's eyes widened in shock and horror.

"…_Poisoned_?" She asked in a soft voice.

"Yes, with boiled frazzle berry juice. Ripe frazzle berries are perfectly fine when they're eaten raw, but when they're fully cooked and dissolved, they're incredibly dangerous; the juices from the berries turn from a bright red to a sickeningly green color when boiled and the juice can even cause _death_. Someone must've put this juice in his drink on purpose."

"But… but _who_? Who would do such a mean thing?" Cindy-Lou asked.

Martha slowly turned her head in the direction of Mrs. Sturnentine who had a terrified look on her face; she realized that she was the one who had given him the glass in the first place. Martha's eyes narrowed in anger and she clenched her hands into fists as she slowly got to her feet.

"You…" She muttered as she walked up to the old woman until she was only a few inches from her. Martha then threw Mrs. Sturnentine against the wall and kept her arms in place; by now, Mrs. Sturnentine was terrified. "_You_ poisoned him! _You_ gave him the drink! _You_ did this! Why?! WHY WOULD YOU THIS?!"

"Martha May, please! Calm down! I just gave him the drink! This is just a big misunderstanding, I'm sure!" Mrs. Sturnentine tried to explain.

"Liar! Why would you want to hurt him?! He hasn't done anything to you!"

"Oh, he's done so much more than you think." A new voice said.

Everyone turned their heads to see a short, bald, round man dressed in a gray suit enter the ballroom and walked up to Martha May. Martha let go of Mrs. Sturnentine and backed away from the man in fear; she recognized him immediately.

"A-Augustus May-Who?" She asked.

"Hello, _my little flower_. It's so good to see you again." August said, taking Martha's hand and kissing it; she pulled away and sneered down at him. His dark eyes narrowed up at her. "Is that any way to address your _betters_?"

"Leave her alone!" Cindy-Lou said as she and her friends ran in front of their teacher to protect her.

"And what is this? Well, well, if it isn't your little horde of _brats_." August scoffed.

"Hey!" The kids yelled, looking offended.

August looked around. "My! What a glittering assemblage we have here! I see everyone has managed to come… even our _celebrity guests_."

Then as if on cue, the SeussTube Six made their way off the stage to join the group, unsure of what was going on.

"Are you talking about us?" Ursa asked, adjusting her glasses.

"And them." August pointed a finger at Johanna and her colleagues.

"Okay, hold up! Hold up! There's still one thing I don't get. Why did you invite us here, May-Who?" Heather asked with a sneer.

"Yeah, she has a point." Bert pointed out.

"Isn't it obvious? I invited all of you so that you could bear witness." August said proudly.

"Witness what?" Frieda asked.

"The demise of this _monstrosity_ before you!" He pointed a finger at the unconscious Grinch.

"Demise?!" Bricklebaum cried.

"Of course. When the clock finally strikes twelve, Mr. Grinch will be _dead_." August let out a wicked chuckle.

"…Was _this_ your plan?" Tina asked.

"Wait, what?" Martha asked, looking back at her friends in fear and confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Tina, Bricklebaum, Welltether, Von Chump, Donna, the Mayor, and the kids all gave each other worried glances before Welltether reluctantly took a step forward.

"You see, Martha… we all had a plan to help you get rid of your stalker." He explained. "The kids had set up traps for May-Who and anyone working for him on a couple of the upper floors while the adults stayed down here to make sure nothing happened… but I guess we were a little too late for that."

"But we didn't think _Mrs. Sturnentine_ would be involved." Donna chimed in.

"Well, I didn't even know about _any_ of this! I was just told to give him the green glass; I didn't know it was laced with boiled frazzle juice!" Mrs. Sturnentine tried to defend herself.

"Why should we believe _you_?" Groopert said.

"You were always mean, even _worse_ than the Grinch." Izzy added.

"Okay, now you're just exaggerating." The old woman sneered.

"You all knew about August? But _how_?" Martha asked.

"The Grinch ratted me out. August found you… with _my_ help, I regret to say." Von Chump stepped forward.

"Please, Martha May, darling. Why would I align myself with these fools?" August prattled on.

"QUIET!" Martha shrieked; August froze. "You conniving, murderous wretch! When I report you to the police, ALL of Seuss will know of this. Your days as Mayor of Who York will be OVER."

August's eyes widened; he scowled up at Martha. "After all these years, you finally decided to grow a _spine_. How pathetic."

Martha winced, allowing her anger to come to a boil… which was very rare. "I have put up with you, your insults, and your abuse for most of my adult life. You hurt me, humiliated me, nearly _killed_ me, you did _so_ many horrible things to me; after everything that happened, did you honestly expect me to come BACK to you? When I came here, I thought I was too broken to ever love or be loved again. It was all because of _you_; you're the one who broke me. What we had wasn't healthy; I never want to feel that way again. I never want to live in fear again! Why do you think I threw out all of those gifts you gave me in the first place?! Don't you get it, May-Who? I don't want anything to do with you anymore! I want you out of my life forever! I want you to leave me alone!"

"Oh please, you don't know what you want." August scoffed.

"I _do_! Have you ever once asked _me_ what _I_ want? No, you haven't. It's always about you and your needs. Grinchy is nothing like you and I'd choose _him_ over _you_ any day."

"Why do you still care about this freak?"

"Because I know he is NOT a monster. He was my best friend when I was little, he still is my closest friend, and… and… and I _love_ him."

Everyone gasped.

"Yeah, that's right. I _love_ the Grinch, so what?" Martha said to the crowd. "I don't care if he doesn't look like everyone else in this town; I fell in love with the Grinch for who he really is." She looked back at him; he was still asleep. "And I would give _anything_ to have him back."

Johanna, Franklin, Heather, and Martha's family all sadly looked at one another, feeling ashamed for judging the Grinch so quickly. In a fit of rage, August punched Martha in the stomach as hard as he could, knocking the wind out of her and causing her to fall to her knees. Everyone gasped again.

"That's right." August taunted. "This is what you are. You're frail, you're weak, and you suffer because it's what you deserve."

Martha breathed and wrapped an arm around her abdomen; she glared up at August as he stood over her with a smug look on his face.

"As long as I'm here, I will _never_ let you hurt my Grinch." She spat.

"We'll see about that." August said before he felt something hit him in the back of the head; it was a cream puff. He whipped his head around to see that everybody in the ballroom was glaring at him. He scoffed at them. "You stay back! This doesn't concern any of you!"

"You have made a _big_ mistake coming to this town, Augustus May-Who." Mayor McGerkle said.

"If you mess with _one_ of us, you mess with _all_ of us." Welltether added.

"No one deserves to be treated the way you treated Martha." Donna sneered.

"And you WILL pay for it." Cindy-Lou snarled.

"And what exactly are all of _you_ going to do about it?" August asked, folding his arms.

There was a pause.

"…GET HIM!" The kids screamed before everyone charged at August; his eyes widened and at that moment, he ran.

Martha slowly got up and tried to join the struggle, but then she felt something grab her right hand. She looked and saw the Grinch's green furry hand holding her hand; she nearly gasped when she saw his eyes open ever so slightly.

"Grinch?" She asked in disbelief.

"M-M-Martha?" Grinch croaked.

Martha quickly knelt down beside the Grinch again; she placed her hands on his cheeks and tears started to fall from her eyes.

"Grinch, it's okay. It's okay, I'm here. I'm right here." She whispered in between sobs.

"I-I… I'm sorry, Martha." Grinch said weakly.

"No, _I'm_ sorry. I should've told you about August sooner, and maybe none of this would've happened. But I was afraid of what you would think of me. I am _so_ sorry, Grinchy; I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I never wanted to hurt you."

"No, you didn't hurt me; it was all him. And I've already forgiven you."

"You have?"

"Yes."

"But _why_?"

"Because, well… because I _love_ you, Martha May."

Martha's eyes widened and a small smile crept onto her lips; she finally heard the three little words she wanted to hear from the Grinch for so long. The two of them touched foreheads and they closed their eyes.

"Martha? Can you do something for me?" Grinch asked.

Martha opened her eyes; they shined with tears. "Anything."

"Can you… sing me a Christmas song?" He asked.

"Of course. Which one?"

"The one you sang in the tape you left. I want to hear the rest of it."

She gave him a smile and stroked his fur. "…Okay, I'd do anything for you."

Martha cleared her throat and began to sing.

"_Where are you Christmas_" She started.

"_Why can't I find you_

_Why have you gone away_

_Where is the laughter_

_You used to bring me_

_Why can't I hear music play_

_My world is changing_

_I'm rearranging_

_Does that mean Christmas changes too_"

The Grinch smiled and closed his eyes as he listened to her sing; Martha's sweet voice was all he wanted to hear right now.

"_Where are you Christmas_" She went on.

"_Do you remember_

_The one you used to know_

_I'm not the same one_

_See what the time's done_

_Is that why you have let me go_

_Christmas is here_

_Everywhere, oh_

_Christmas is here_

_If you care, oh_

_If there is love in your heart and your mind_

_You will feel like Christmas all the time_"

Martha closed her eyes and more tears streamed down her cheeks as she sang.

"_Oh, I feel you Christmas_

_I know I've found you_

_You never fade away, oh_

_The joy of Christmas_

_Stays here inside us_

_Fills each and every heart with love_"

She and the Grinch touched foreheads again.

"_I've found you Christmas…_" She finished.

"That was… all I wanted to hear." Grinch said. "But… did you really mean what you said? Do you… really love me?"

Martha paused and wiped her eyes. "Of course I do."

"But… _how_? I'm not exactly Prince Charming, you know."

"I don't care how you look. You're a prince in my eyes."

"Me? A _prince_? I'm more of a _beast_ than anything. How could you ever love someone… something, like…_me_?"

"You are _not_ a beast. That's not what you are; it's just how you feel." She paused and held the Grinch's face in her hands. "…And this is how _I_ feel."

And with that, Martha May pressed her warm lips against the Grinch's cool lips just before the clock started to strike the time: midnight. His eyes widened in shock and his heart rate quickened, but then he closed his eyes and he started to kiss her back, raising his free hand to tangle his fingers in Martha's fiery red hair. The ballroom suddenly went quiet; everyone looked to see Martha and the Grinch kissing and they all gasped in surprise. Cindy-Lou had a big, excited smile on her face while August snarled in shock and anger.

The Grinch and Martha parted before Martha laid her head on the sofa next to the Grinch, thinking that he was finally gone. The clock finished chiming. But as she continued to cry, something happened. The Grinch started to moan in pain; he clutched his stomach before he let out a deep, loud belch. Martha's eyes shot open when she heard him groan. She looked up and her eyes widened; the Grinch was waking up. She nearly gasped when he rubbed his eyes and looked at her.

"Hey, you didn't have to stop. That was nice." He said with a playful smile.

"Grinch? Grinchy! Oh my gosh!" Martha cried, wrapping her arms around her friend and crying tears of joy; he laughed and hugged her back.

They parted and looked at each other; Martha wiped her tears away.

"How?" She asked, dumbfounded.

"The funny thing about frazzle berries is that the deadly effects that they cause can be overpowered or eradicated completely by an increase in endorphins and heart rate, which you gladly provided with that kiss." Grinch explained before glancing behind Martha. "Oh… Looks like we have an audience."

Martha smiled and giggled, giving him another hug.


	13. The Final Fight

Cindy-Lou and Max ran up to the Grinch with overjoyed smiles on their faces; Donna, Tina, Bricklebaum, Welltether, and the Mayor quickly joined them.

"Mr. Grinch! You're okay! Thank goodness!" The little girl cried, giving her friend the biggest hug she could muster; Max excitedly jumped onto the sofa and licked his master's face like there was no tomorrow.

"Hey, hey, hey! It's okay, you guys. I'm fine… aside from the minor stomachache." Grinch chuckled, sitting up and patting his stomach.

"I can't believe it! I just can't believe it!" Cindy exclaimed. "This is just like a fairy tale!"

"What do you mean?" Martha asked with a giggle.

"True Love's Kiss! Miss May, _you_ saved the Grinch with _True Love's Kiss_! And just before the last stroke of midnight! True Love's Kiss does exist! It really _is_ the most powerful thing in the world! So romantic…" The little girl gushed.

The other adults happily laughed as Martha helped the Grinch get up off the sofa and back onto his feet. Everyone else smiled and applauded and cheered… except for Mister May-Who.

"Noooooooooo!" August screamed in rage, breaking free from the townspeople's grasp; he glared at Martha and the Grinch as they held each other close. "The most powerful thing in the world? Ha! I don't think so. You have no idea who you're dealing with. Quimney! Chip! Skip! Get in here… and bring the machine!"

Then as if on cue, the two guards and the concierge entered the ballroom with a large vehicle that looked like it belonged in the Steampunk Age. Everyone backed away in fear and ran off to hide, including the SeussTube Six.

"I'm pretty sure _this_ wasn't in our contract." Maggie said nervously; Ursa wrapped her arm around her shoulder and held her girlfriend close.

"What the heck is that thing?!" Grover shouted.

"Nothing special, just a little something I put together at the last minute. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself." August gloated. "You know, I've been thinking. If I'm going to remain Mayor of Who York, I'm going to need some sort of story when I go back." He looked away and scratched his head, pretending to be in thought. "What if there was a giant avalanche and it was so big that it _destroyed_ all of Whoville? And poor defenseless Augustus May-Who? Oh, he just couldn't save anyone." He looked at the couple with a wicked smile. "Let's begin with the girl that started it all, shall we?"

"Over my dead body." Grinch said, stepping in front of Martha to protect her.

August paused. "…Alright, I'm flexible. I _was_ planning on killing you anyway. Boys?"

Chip and Skip nodded at their boss before charging at the Grinch grabbing him; they started dragging him towards the vehicle.

"Hey! No! What are you doing?! Let me go!" Grinch protested, trying to get himself free.

"No!" Martha screamed.

In a panic, she ran up to them, grabbed the Grinch's right foot, and pulled with all her might. Max, Cindy Lou, her friends, Donna, Bricklebaum, Welltether, Tina, the Mayor, and even Von Chump joined in the supposed tug of war. Then the Grinch felt his boot starting to slowly come off; his eyes widened in terror before the boot flew off of his foot and Martha and her companions fell backwards. Martha sat up and looked in her hands; she was holding his boot. Before anything else could be done, the Grinch's hands were tied together, a handkerchief was stuffed into his mouth, and he was violently thrown into the back of the vehicle, which looked like the bed of a pick-up truck. Martha stood up.

"Come along, Martha May." August said as he ran up to the driver's seat at the front. "I don't want you to miss this ending."

And with that, the Steampunk truck drove through the ballroom doors and out of the hotel, the Grinch screaming and yelling for help all the while. Martha ran outside to see where they were going… only to see that they were heading towards Mr. Crumpit; her eyes widened in terror. Everyone followed her and they were just as scared as Martha was.

"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad!" Tina chanted in fear.

"He has the Grinch!" Groopert said.

"What are we gonna do?!" Donna cried.

"We have to save him!" Bricklebaum exclaimed.

"Hey, don't look at me!" Franklin protested.

"Or me! I'm just a fashion tycoon!" Johanna said in a panic.

"Well, _someone_ has to go after them!" Darby chimed in.

"But _who_?" Saffron asked.

A loud grunt was suddenly heard, followed by an equally loud thud. Martha then turned her head in the direction of the sound to see Fred the reindeer and his family hitched up to the Grinch's sleigh. Fred moved his head towards the sleigh and grunted again; it looked like he wanted her to get into the sleigh. Martha narrowed her eyes and nodded her head before running over to the sleigh.

"Martha? What are you doing?!" Heather shouted.

The redheaded Who turned her head back towards the crowd with a look of determination on her face. "I'm going to save my Grinch."

She climbed in and with one whip of the reins, the sleigh raced away from the hotel and after August's truck. Martha was on a mission of her own: to rescue her true love. The sleigh raced over the snow-covered roads of the town, following the path as it curved down. Soon, the Steampunk vehicle was in sight. Martha whipped the reins again.

In the bed of the truck, the Grinch spat out the gag and screamed, "Let me go, you bloated lunatic! You're crazy!"

August's laugh was heard over an intercom. "Pompous, spiteful, vindictive, and very large, but NEVER crazy."

Then something big hit against the back of the truck. August looked in the rear view mirror to see what it was; he snarled.

"Martha!" Grinch happily cried; he saw Martha driving the sleigh with an enraged expression on her face and her red hair blowing in the wind behind her.

"Oh my, this is real twist in our story." August scoffed. "It's the brave little princess coming to the rescue. I guess that makes you the damsel in distress, eh Grinchy ol' boy? Keep up with me, my little flower. It's time to take our tale to new heights."

They raced up the side of Mt. Crumpit and they stopped just near the top. August hopped out of the truck, the Grinch was hoisted out of the back, August grabbed him by the neck, and he walked over the cliff. Back in Whoville, a few citizens were watching everything that was happening.

"Oh no!" Tina cried as she stared through the binoculars. "May-Who is gonna drop him!"

"Gimme those! Let me see!" Heather shouted, stealing the binoculars from her.

"Hey, hey! I can't see!" Bert yelled.

"I've gotta do something… but what?" Cindy-Lou worriedly asked herself before she heard a bark.

She looked and saw Max with a jump rope in his mouth; he was standing in front of Cindy's pink sledding tube. Her eyes widened; she knew what he wanted to do. She smiled, hopped into the tube, and grabbed the jump rope.

Donna gasped. "Cindy-Lou, what are you doing?!"

"Miss May needs help, and I'm gonna help her! Come on, Max! Mush, boy! Mush!" She said, whipping the rope like reins.

And with all the strength he could, Max pulled Cindy-Lou down the snow covered roads towards the mountain. Donna watched as her daughter disappeared from view.

On the mountain, Martha stopped the sleigh, climbed out, and trudged through the snow to face her ex, but August stopped her.

"That's close enough!" He demanded.

"Martha, don't…" Grinch croaked due to the lack of oxygen.

"Please, August! Don't hurt him!" Martha cried.

"Face it, Martha May. You're beaten. One more step and this green stuffed animal is _wolf feed_ on the rocks below."

"I'm not going to let you get away with this, Augustus. This ends _now_." Martha narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, please. Quit embarrassing yourself, I've seen what you really are." August scoffed.

After a moment, Martha laughed before giving August a dark glare. "No, you haven't."

She untied the red ribbon around her hips and pulled on it, making the skirt of her dress shorter; she tied it back up when it was at the length she wanted. The she took out the green bows, letting her red hair drape down around her shoulders. She clenched her fists and took a fighting stance. August's arm pulled in and his grip loosened on the Grinch's neck, which made the Grinch fall to his knees and gasp for air. August charged at Martha, but before he could even touch her, Martha jumped into the air, out of his path, and landed on her feet behind him like a professional gymnast. She gave him a smug look.

"…How?" August asked, dumbfounded.

"I am a lot stronger than you think." She said before standing up straight. "If you _really_ knew everything about me, then you must also know that I've been taking private self defense classes lately, so I can protect myself from people like _you_." She ran towards him.

August tried to hit her, but Martha was having none of it. She dodged every single one of his attacks, not allowing herself to be hurt by this vile, corrupt man again. While they were distracted, Chip, Skip, and Quimney noticed Cindy-Lou and Max racing towards them.

"Hey! It's that little girl again!" Chip cried.

"And her little dog, too!" Skip added.

"Well, what are you idiots waiting for? Get her!" Quimney commanded.

They did as they were told and tried to grab Cindy, but Max jumped up and bit Chip in the arm before biting Skip in the leg.

"Whoa! Good boy, Max!" Cindy cried as she made her way to the truck, only to be stopped by Mr. Quimney.

"Not so fast, little girl." He said tauntingly. "You can't help your friends now."

"Wanna bet?" Cindy said before running through his legs and climbing into the driver's seat of the truck. "Max, lead them over this way!"

Max barked and did as he was told; Chip and Skip ran after him and collided into the bed of the truck, not realizing that Cindy-Lou was turning the steering wheel away from the mountain cliff. After dodging August's many blows, Martha was now on her knees, breathing heavily. He had hit her in the stomach again, knocking the wind right out of her.

"That's it. Bow before your master, wretch." August said triumphantly, standing over her. "You are so predictable, Martha May. There's nothing you can do that I can't see coming."

Martha heaved a few breaths and brushed some of her hair out of her eyes; she had a sly smile on her face. "So… you still think you're in control of the situation, huh?"

Her eyelid flickers before she jumps up and punches August in the jaw. He stumbled back a little bit before Martha kicked him hard in the gut, which caused him to fly through the air and be thrown into the bed of the truck.

"Boss!" Chip and Skip cried as they and Quimney went to help August.

"No, wait! Stop her!" August demanded before he heard the truck roar to life. He froze. "Uh oh…"

"Ready, Cindy-Lou?" Martha asked, standing straight.

"Ready, Miss May!" Cindy said, sticking her head out the driver's side window.

"NOW!"

And with that, Cindy-Lou threw a large heavy rock onto the gas pedal inside the truck. She jumped out the open window just before the truck sped down the mountain, going faster and faster as it headed back towards Whoville. Cindy and Martha smiled and gave each other a high-five; Martha undid the bow around her hips and her skirt reverted back to its original length once again.

"Whoa, great job, girls!" Grinch called as he tried to stand up.

"Mr. Grinch, wait! Stop, don't!" Cindy cried in a panic before she saw the Grinch start to lose his balance.

Before anything else could be done, the Grinch fell from the cliff. Martha ran over to the cliff and looked over the edge to see Grinch desperately clinging to a branch poking out from the side of the mountain. He was struggling to pull himself back up.

"Take my hand!" Martha shouted as she reached out her hand.

But just as the Grinch could grab her hand, the branch started to snap. He cried out in fear and started to hyperventilate. Trying not to panic, Martha looked around and remembered something. She ran back to the sleigh and fetched out a large candy cane, but she ran back to the cliff just in time to see the branch snap completely and the Grinch fall.

"Grinch! NOOOO!" She screamed as she jumped from the cliff as well.

"Miss May!" Cindy-Lou shrieked; Max barked worriedly.

Martha continued to fall, desperately reaching out to grab the Grinch's hand.

"Martha, what are you doing?!" Grinch yelled.

"I'm not going to let you go!" Martha yelled back, grabbing his hand and holding him in her embrace. "I lost you once; I'm not going to lose you again! Besides, if we go, we go together!"

Grinch wrapped his arms around Martha's slim body as she aimed the candy cane she grabbed back up at the mountain and pressed something on the side of it. A grappling hook suddenly shot out of the end, but it looked like the hook was about to miss the cliff entirely. Martha and the Grinch screamed and squeezed their eyes shut, waiting for the worst. Then they felt a tug on the rope.

Grinch and Martha reluctantly opened their eyes and looked up to see Cindy-Lou Who and Max pulling on the rope. Fred and his family were helping them, too. Working together, they pulled the Grinch and Martha back up to safety. Breathing heavily, the two of them sat in the snow and looked at each other, relieved smiles on their faces.

"…Great party, huh?" Grinch joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Martha ran a hand through her hair and chuckled. "This is probably the _craziest_ Valentine's Day I have _ever_ had."

They shared a laugh and smiled at each other again before hugging each other with all their might. Cindy-Lou and Max quickly joined the embrace, happy to see their friends safe and sound. Grinch stood up and walked back towards the sleigh.

"I think it's about time we head back to Whoville." He said, climbing in.

"Agreed." Martha said as she climbed in beside him; Cindy and Max followed suit.

"Okay, Fred. Let's go!" Grinch said, whipping the reins.


	14. Aftermath

"What's happening now?" Donna asked.

"Is everything okay?" Von Chump asked.

"I-I don't know." Heather answered before she heard something. "Wait, what's that noise?"

"Is that… screaming?" Franklin asked.

"Look!" Maggie pointed a finger at Mt. Crumpit.

Everyone looked and saw August's Steampunk vehicle go down the mountain and back into town at full speed. It was going up the hill and through the roads… and it was coming towards the hotel.

"It's gonna hit us!" Groopert cried out.

"Heads up, Whoville!" Ping-Pong screamed as everyone ran in different directions, hoping that the truck wouldn't hit anybody.

The truck was completely out of control and it spun around a few times before it finally screeched to a halt, causing the inhabitants inside its bed to fly through the air and land in a huge, slushy snow bank. They surrounded the snow drift just as August's head popped out of the snow like a daisy. He shook his head and groaned; he opened his eyes to see the townspeople glaring down at him.

"Wait, if May-Who and his goons are here, then where—" Welltether started before he was cut off by the sound of a horn.

Everyone turned their heads in the direction of Mt. Crumpit to see the Grinch's sleigh being pulled by Fred and his family. It was racing back down the mountain and right through town, coming right towards the town square. The citizens of Whoville separated themselves to either side of the town square so the sleigh could stop right in the middle. The Grinch was in the driver's seat with Martha right at his side; Max was pulling Cindy-Lou along in her sledding tube as she blew into a horn. They stopped.

"The sleigh has landed!" The Grinch triumphantly declared, climbing out of the sleigh.

Everyone cheered as they surrounded the sleigh. Donna ran over to her daughter and showered her with hugs and kisses while Martha's parents and sisters rushed over and brought her in for a big group hug the first chance they got. Max let out a happy yap, jumped into the Grinch's arms, and started licking his master's face.

"Are you okay, Cindy? Are you hurt?" Donna asked, looking her daughter over.

"Mom, don't worry. I'm fine." Cindy answered.

"Wow, you guys really had me scared there for a sec!" Bricklebaum exclaimed.

"I'm so glad everything is okay!" The Mayor cried, hugging her niece.

"Me too, Madame Mayor." Grinch said before turning his head to look at Martha; he reached out and took her hand before pulling her close. "You were right, Martha. This _is_ the craziest Valentine's Day ever."

Martha giggled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I think we can all thank _Mister May-Who_ for that one."

"Yeah. Speaking of which, where is he?"

At that moment, August made his way out of the snow bank and he trudged over to the couple with an enraged expression on his face. His eyes burned with anger and it looked as though steam was coming out of his ears. But after a moment, he fell to his knees and started pounding the ground with his fists.

"No! This wasn't supposed to happen!" He screamed before pointing a finger at Martha. "This is all _your_ fault! _You_ are supposed to be with _me_!" He pointed a finger at the Grinch next. "And _you_ are supposed to be _DEAD_! You can't be together! You are just… just… ACTING LIKE A CHILD!"

The town square fell silent; everyone awkwardly looked at each other before Martha stepped forward and looked down at August.

"August, compared to _you_… I _am_ a child. What's _your_ excuse?" She smugly asked.

And with that, all of Whoville started laughing at August, especially the Grinch. He laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face and he almost fell over. August breathed heavily and he slowly got up, planning to charge at the Grinch and snuff the ever living life out of him, but he never got that chance. Before he could make his move, there was a loud bang and August fell to the ground in a daze… Mrs. Sturnentine was standing behind him and holding a frying pan; she had a proud smile on her face.

"Not too shabby for an _old hag_, eh?" She asked with a smirk.

Police lights started flashing and sirens were new blaring when two police vehicles pulled up next to the hotel. Two police officers came out of one car and one more cop with a golden badge exited the other one; she must've been the Chief of Police.

"Alright, folks. We came to pick up a few felons. Who was the one who contacted us?" The cop with the badge asked.

"That would be _me_, Sheriff Rosyridge." Mrs. Sturnentine stepped forward. "And the felons you're looking for are right over here." She pointed a finger at both the snow bank and August, who was still on his knees in the snow.

"Great, thanks. O'Mittens, Deputy Zip, get them outta here." The Sheriff said to her colleagues.

"Yes, ma'am." The two cops said, giving a salute and going over to May-Who and his goons.

"It's alright, folks. We'll make sure these goons get what they deserve." The Sheriff said as August, Quimney, Chip, and Skip were pushed into the back of the two police cars.

"What? No! You can't do this to me! I don't belong in jail, I was set up!" Quimney protested.

"Come on, I was just kidding! You all know that, right? With the poison and the kidnapping bit? Wasn't that hilarious, everybody?" August said before the car door slammed shut in his face.

She turned to Mrs. Sturnentine. "Oh! And _Sandy_? Thanks for the call."

"Anytime, _Nancy_."

The two Whos smiled, shook hands, and the Sheriff and her fellow officers climbed back into their cars. But before they drove off, Rosyridge stuck her head out the window.

"Have a good rest of your Valentine's Day, everyone… especially you two." She said, looking at the Grinch and Martha.

They blushed before the police cars drove off. The last thing they heard was August screaming out the car window:

"I WILL DESTROY ALL OF YOU!"

Martha and Grinch smiled and laughed before Martha remembered something else. She went over to the sleigh and quickly returned with the Grinch's missing boot; he smirked as he took it.

"Almost forgot about this." She said.

"Thanks." The Grinch slipped the boot back onto his foot with ease.

"The missing shoe fits! Now this really _is_ a fairy tale!" Cindy-Lou cried out with a big grin on her face.

The two adults laughed before Johanna, Franklin, Heather, Mortimer, Felicity, June, Joy, and Frieda approached them with rather awkward looks on their faces.

"Martha, honey? We just wanted to, um…" Felicity started.

"We wanted to say we're sorry." Johanna interrupted.

"For what?" Martha asked.

"For everything." June and Joy said in unison.

"We shouldn't have been so quick to judge you or your choices… and especially _you_, Mr. Grinch." Mortimer said, turning to the Grinch.

"Me?" Grinch asked.

"Yeah. We were just afraid, I guess." Heather answered.

"So no hard feelings?" Franklin asked, offering his hand to him.

The Grinch paused before smiling and shaking Franklin's hand. "No hard feelings."

He then started to shake hands with everyone until the SeussTube Six suddenly approached them; the Grinch and Martha paused as Cindy quickly hid behind the skirt of Martha's dress. Martha's family and former coworkers quietly left the scene.

"Hello." Grinch said.

"Hi. Uh, we just wanted to point out that this was probably the _weirdest_ gig we've _ever_ had." Ursa replied.

"Oh, I can only imagine." Martha giggled.

"But I'll tell you one thing; _never_ book a gig over the telephone _without_ reading a contract." Maggie said.

"I understand. But before you guys leave, I have someone special I'd like you to meet." Grinch said before ushering Cindy-Lou over to the musical group.

The little girl's blue eyes were wide with awe, excitement, and a bit of fear; she almost couldn't believe she was actually looking at her favorite band with her own eyes. They all smiled at her as she gave a shy smile.

"SeussTube Six, meet Cindy-Lou Who." The Grinch introduced.

"Hello, Cindy-Lou." Saffron said, reaching out her hand.

Cindy nervously shook it and grinned. "Uh, hi. It… it's really nice to meet you all."

"It's nice to meet you, too." Ping-Pong chimed in.

"Would you like to take a picture with us, Cindy?" Darby asked.

The girl's eyes widened again. "A picture? With you?"

"Of course. And your friends can join, too. What do you say?" Grover asked.

"Well, I say… Guys!"

Groopert, Izzy, Axl, and Ozzy all came running and they quickly started snapping all kinds of selfies and photos together.

Grinch chuckled and looked at Martha, taking her hand in his own. "Well now that that's over with, Martha… there's something I want to ask you." He got down on one knee, still holding her hand. "I know the day is practically over but, Martha May… will you be my Valentine?"

Martha smiled as a tear fell down her cheek. "Yes, of course. Always."

And with that, the Grinch got back onto his feet and pulled Martha into his embrace for a sweet, passionate kiss. All of Whoville clapped their hands in applause and cheered for the new couple.

"Eww, kissing!" Ozzy and Axl said in disgust; Groopert shook his head and smirked.

"Awwwwww!" Izzy beamed.

"It _is_ true love!" Cindy gushed.

"Hey, how long do you suppose it'll be before those two get married?" Tina asked Bert who was standing next to her.

"Who knows?" Bert answered with a shrug.

The Grinch and Martha didn't seem to care about marriage right now. They were together now and that's all that mattered.


	15. Epilogue: The Wedding

"Oh, Martha! You look gorgeous!" Donna exclaimed once she and Tina made the final adjustments to Martha's gown.

She directed her toward the mirror and Martha thought she was looking at someone else. Her dress was simple but elegant with small sheer green sleeves covering her shoulders, and long silvery gloves. Her silver veil hung from a small silver tiara with a mint green gem in the center, which sat perfectly atop her head. The string of pearls the Grinch had given her was hanging around her neck.

"…It's beautiful!" Martha marveled.

"_You're_ beautiful, Martha!" Tina hailed. "We only made you better!"

She and Donna were both wearing matching red bridesmaid's dresses with white trim on the sleeves and skirts.

"Wow, you look beautiful, Miss May!" Cindy-Lou exclaimed; she was wearing a dress in various shades of pink.

"So do you, Cindy." Martha beamed.

"Thanks, but are you sure you want _me_ to be the ring bearer? Isn't that a _boy's_ job?" Cindy asked.

"Technically yes, but I wanted to try something different. Besides, your brothers are the flower boys and I don't think they'll be careful enough to carry a velvet pillow with rings on it without dropping it."

"Good point."

"Plus, we're having a wedding on _Christmas Eve_. It doesn't get any more untraditional than that."

"I know! But just you wait until the reception! The whole class has a _big_ surprise for you and Mr. Grinch!"

"A surprise?"

"Yeah! This will probably be the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!"

Martha giggled. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Tina went to answer it and it was Izzy dressed in a yellow and lilac dress.

"Sorry to interrupt, but it's almost time for the wedding to begin!" Izzy said.

"Oh my gosh! We need to hurry!" Donna said as she grabbed two bouquets of poinsettias and red roses and gave one to Tina.

Martha reached out and grabbed her bouquet of white roses as Cindy-Lou smoothed out the skirt of her and Martha's dresses. The little girl looked up at the beautiful bride before her.

"Ready?" She asked.

"…As I'll ever be." Martha answered with a beaming smile.

0-0-0-0-0-0

The Grinch stood tall at the altar, wearing a pristine white tuxedo, a red bowtie, shined black dress shoes, and a white rose was pinned on his jacket collar. Everyone was in their positions at the altar. Max stood near his master's feet while Mayor McGerkle stood in the middle, beneath the arch of roses, holly, mistletoe, and poinsettias.

The guests had all arrived and the room was packed. Since the Grinch had no relations, the Whoville folk sat on the groom's side while Martha's family and old friends sat on the bride's. The Grinch could recognize a few faces, including Felicity, the twins June and Joy, Mrs. Sturnentine, Von Chump, Welltether, Groopert, Izzy, Ozzy, Axl, and even Johanna, Heather, Franklin, and Frieda from Who Runway. Even the SeussTube Six had shown up.

He tugged at his tie and took a breath, trying to relax his nerves.

'It's okay, Grinchy. No reason to freak out. It's okay, don't be nervous.' He thought. 'It's just Christmas Eve… as well as the day you're gonna marry your best friend, who _also_ happens to be the girl of your dreams. You got this, you _can_ do this.'

"Mr. Grinch, tell those butterflies in your tummy to get lost. Everything is going to be just fine." The Mayor said.

"I hope you're right." Grinch said under his breath.

Sure enough, a small band nearby began playing the bridal march. Buster and Bean hopped down the aisle and scattered their petals on the ground. Cindy-Lou then came in holding the velvet pillow with the rings before Tina, Donna, Bricklebaum, and Bert entered. Then he started panicking out of nowhere.

'This is crazy. What am I even doing here?' He thought.

Then he looked up and remembered why.

The bride entered with grace and elegance, causing everyone in Whoville to stare in awe and wonder. With her father escorting her down the aisle, she walked down the aisle with her head held high.

A smile spread across Grinch's face. "She's so beautiful…"

"Easy there, tiger." Bricklebaum slyly smirked.

"So romantic…" Cindy-Lou quietly gushed as she started to tear up.

Martha giggled at her as she passed by. Then she turned her attention back to the Grinch as she walked up the steps; she stopped when they were almost nose to nose. Mortimer took his seat on the bride's side. After exchanging a loving look, Grinch and Martha turned to face the Mayor. She cleared her throat.

"Dearly beloved, ladies and gentlemen, friends and family, all Whos far and near…" The Mayor announced. "We are gathered here on this beautiful Christmas Eve to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, the joining of two hearts. From the moment they first met, Martha May and the Grinch have always been there for each other, no matter what the cost. Even when one was in trouble, the other would be there to help them in any way possible and protect them from any threat that came their way. All because of a strange chance encounter one December night many years ago, these two standing before you have changed each other's lives for the better and they have proven to all of us that a love as strong and as committed as theirs' can stand through anything, even in the face of doubt or mortal danger."

She turned to the groom. "Do you, Mr. Grinch, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, through thick and thin, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, for as long as you both shall live?"

The Grinch smiled at his bride. "I do."

The Mayor turned to her niece. "And do you, Martha May, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, through thick and thin, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, for as long as you both shall live?"

Martha looked up into Grinch's adoring eyes. "I do."

"Then may we have the rings, please?"

Cindy-Lou presented the pillow; they each took a ring and slipped one onto the other's finger.

"By the power vested in me by the Land of Seuss, I now pronounce this couple husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

And with that, the couple embraced in a long, sweet kiss, which made everyone in Whoville cheer and clap their hands in applause. The couple separated and smiled as they led everyone out of their seats and into Town Square, where the reception was taking place. After the bride and groom had cut the cake, Cindy-Lou tapped a glass and stood on a table.

"Excuse me, everyone; I'd like to make a toast." The little girl announced; she smiled at Martha and the Grinch. "For as long as I've known the bride and groom, they were always doing something together; and I somehow knew they would end up this way, happily married. Call me a hopeless romantic, but it's true. And just because tomorrow will be their first Christmas Day as a newlywed couple, I've prepared something special for them. Mr. Grinch, Martha May, this is for you…"

She jumped off the table and ran over to the stage under the enormous Christmas tree before music began to play. Martha and the Grinch looked at each other in surprise; they both recognized the song immediately. Cindy-Lou stood center stage and grinned.

"_Where are you Christmas_" She started.

"_Why can't I find you_

_Why have you gone away_"

"_Where is the laughter_" Groopert joined her.

"_You used to bring me_

_Why can't I hear music play_"

"_My world is changing_"

"_I'm rearranging_"

"_Does that mean Christmas changes too_"

Cindy and Groopert held hands as they sang. Soon, more Whoville kids joined in. Martha soon realized that it was her entire class; her eyes started to fill up with tears of joy.

"_Where are you Christmas_" They went on.

"_Do you remember_

_The one you used to know_

_I'm not the same one_

_See what the time's done_

_Is that why you have let me go_

_Christmas is here_

_Everywhere_

_Christmas is here_

_If you care_

_If there is love in your heart and your mind_

_You will feel like Christmas all the time_"

By now, Martha and the Grinch couldn't help but softly sing along with them. They held each other close.

"_I feel you Christmas_

_I know I've found you_

_You never fade away_"

"_The joy of Christmas_

_Stays here inside us_

_Fills each and every heart with love_"

"_Where are you Christmas_"

"_Fill your heart with love_"

The music faded to a stop. Everyone clapped their hands and cheered as the kids grinned and took a bow.

"To the bride and groom!" Cindy declared.

Soon enough, a slow song began to play, which drew various couples out onto the dance floor. The Grinch and Martha was one of these couples. Grinch gazed down at his new wife as she buried her face in his warm green fur before he noticed a familiar face approach.

"Mrs. Sturnentine?"

Martha looked up as her husband led her over to the elderly Who.

"Salutations, you lovebirds." She said. "I just wanted to offer my congratulations… and my most sincere apology. I'm truly sorry for giving you both a hard time, especially at the Valentine's Day party; I was just being bitter and childish and I took my anger and frustration out on you two and I didn't know what I was saying. I'm so very sorry, for everything."

"It's okay, Mrs. Sturnentine. I've forgiven you months ago." Grinch said.

"It is?"

"Of course."

He offered his hand to her; she smiled and gladly took it.

"Well, I'd better leave you two alone. Congratulations and have a very merry Christmas." The old Who said with a smile.

"Thank you, and Merry Christmas to you too." Martha and Grinch said in unison as Mrs. Sturnentine walked away, leaving them alone once again.

"This is without a doubt the BEST Christmas ever." Martha whispered lovingly into her husband's ear.

"I couldn't agree more." The Grinch whispered back.

"I can't wait to see what happens next for us."

"Me neither." They held each other close and touched foreheads. "I love you, Martha May."

"I love you too, Grinch."

They shared another kiss.


End file.
